Jeremy Allen White and Christopher Storer

John Heilemann goes all-in on The Bear — the FX series set in the fictional sandwich shop The Original Beef of Chicagoland that came out of nowhere (Yes, chef) to become the breakout show of the summer (Heard, chef), the source of a jillion Internet memes (Hands!), and a full-blown cultural phenomenon (all day) — with its star, Jeremy Allen White, and creator, Chris Storer. White and Storer discuss the show's surprising runaway success; their passion for and commitment to creating the first scripted series ever to capture the realities of the world of restaurant kitchens accurately and authentically; their many, varied, and unlikely inspirations for The Bear, from The Panic in Needle Park to Terms of Endearment, Taxi, and Rounders; and how the rapturous reception of the show has changed both of their lives almost overnight. White, heretofore best known for his 11 seasons and 10 years playing Lip Gallagher (a gifted kid from a dysfunctional working-class Chicago family) in the signature Showtime series Shameless, reflects on his wariness about taking on the superficially similar character Carmen Berzatto in The Bear, and his approach to the seven-minute, show-stopping soliloquy in the show's finale that could make him a mortal lock for an Emmy Award next year — while Storer teases some elements of Season Two of The Bear that the show's legions of newly minted, hyper-obsessive super-fans (including Heilemann) are sure to find deliciously tantalizing.

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