“Letting Your Writing Steep” A Conversation with ‘The Bear’ Showrunner Joanna Calo

During the 1990s and early 2000s, there were a few films with alluring food at the center of the story. The themes of romance, family tradition, and culinary artistry often revolved around it. Like Water for Chocolate (1992), Eat Drink Man Woman (1994), Soul Food (1997), and Chocolat (2000) are some signature ones that promoted different ethnic food traditions while at the same time confirming food as a crucial common denominator among people. 

Food reality shows have now brought mouth-watering dishes into our homes, with competition the driving force of the frenetic programs. The Restaurant, Hell’s Kitchen, Top Chef, and MasterChef have not only demonstrated guests’ top-tier cooking skills, but they’ve also shown us that chefs function akin to orchestra conductors. They keep many moving parts of the kitchen functioning while at the same time creating mind-blowing dishes. In addition, The Food Network and the Food Channel offer a potpourri of shows that have cooking lessons, food competitions, cultural destination forays focused on regional dishes, and suggestions for world-class places to dine.

The Bear  is a fresh comedy that offers a glimpse of the day-to-day operations of a local sandwich hotspot in Chicago now run by Carmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) aka The Bear, after his brother commits suicide. Jeremy Allen White plays the harried and edgy chef with a wide-eyed cockiness. He maneuvers his way through the restaurant with the assurance of being the best at what he does, but his tousled, frazzled look gives him the appearance being constantly perplexed. He could be Lieutenant Columbo’s long lost son. Starring Ebon Moss Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, and Liza Colón-Zayas, The Bear is a testament to the cultural richness of Chicago, as well as its rawness. It’s darkly humorous and touching and the dialogue is as well-seasoned as many of the delectable meals that are showcased in each episode. 

The Bear’s showrunner Joanna Calo recently spoke with Creative Screenwriting Magazine about how she got involved with the show and what it’s like to be a part of the writing process for it. 

How did you get attached to The Bear?

My manager sent me some scripts and wanted me to check them out. I agreed with him that there was a spirit to them, a voice and an energy that was really exciting. Also, the best feeling that you have when you read something that you love is when you also have ideas about what you can bring to it. I felt that as well. I felt a kinship to the material. I felt in awe of it. But I also felt I wanted to add to it. So, I told my manager that I loved it. The next step was talking to Chris [Storer]. There was chemistry there, that feeling that you’ve known someone for a long time.

Have you been a showrunner before?

No, this is my first time, but I had supervised a bunch of projects.

What are the unique challenges of being a showrunner?

The unique challenges of being a showrunner are you have to be a writer and a manager. You have to be a manager of people and writers. As a writer, I have compassion and empathy for the writers. I wanted to make sure they were feeling heard and seen. You also have to remember that you’re not just part of the staff anymore. Being a first-time showrunner, the challenge for me was remembering when to step outside and be a boss and be able to makes decisions about what’s best for the show.

What are the challenges of writing for this show as opposed to Hacks?

The challenges of The Bear were making sure that we captured the energy that was in Chris’s original script. The way to do that was to lean into these stories from chefs and the small business challenges to allow the character stuff to rise to the top. Whereas with Hacks, it’s about this amazing dynamic between two women and finding ways to talk about the larger issues of being female, being a creative female, and the age differences between the two. Jean Smart is so amazing it felt like our job was just to give opportunities to let her be.

Do you have a writing routine?

I love to write in the morning, right after the coffee hits and before my children need to be picked up from school. I like to just hit it and not think about it too much. I love a vomit draft, for sure.

How long did it take you to write your episode of The Bear?

It was one of the most exciting writing experiences I’ve ever had. It just came out so fast! I think that was really the benefit of being a showrunner. I’d crafted the season, I was so inside it, that by the time I had to sit down and write, it felt like it had already been written. It was just a matter of scratching the layer off… like a lotto ticket. I wrote it in a day and a half.

Is there a TV writers’ room?

When FX first greenlit the pilot, they allowed us to do a mini-room, which was wonderful and I was so grateful for it because we could plot out the season together with a lot of different voices in a way that ended up making its way into the pilot and into the early episodes so that when we did get picked up, we were really ready to go. The pilot built the foundation for the season retroactively. We did the mini-room. Then we had a little break while we did the pilot. Then we did another writers’ room. Some people were in person, some were on Zoom. We cobbled it together in a mid-pandemic fashion.

What was Chris’s inspiration for this story?

A couple of things. He’s from Chicago and has a deep love for the city. He had an incredibly vibrant childhood there and has so many remarkable stories about what the people in his Chicago were like. He also has a connection to the chef world. His sister Courtney Storer is an amazing chef. But he also has experience in that world where he worked the line at times.

This was your first time directing?

Yes.

How was it?

It was so hard…! By the third episode, I loved it. I felt like the training wheels came off and I was riding down the sidewalk on my own. I’ve been a writer for a long time, and I’d always wanted to direct. Stepping into that role was like learning a whole new language.

Do you find that directing now affects your writing voice?

One hundred percent. I feel like I came back from Chicago an entirely new writer. From the directing perspective. From the showrunning perspective. And also working on a show like The Bear, which feels different and original, reminds you to listen to that voice in your head that sounds different than all the other voices.

What was your first paid writing gig?

Free Agents which was on NBC and starred Kathryn Hahn and Hank Azaria. The showrunner was John Enbom, who’s an amazing writer and had worked on Veronica Mars, a show I was a huge fan of. He also did Party Down. I was his assistant and then he let me be one of his writers.

Did you get representation after that?

I was an assistant for ten years before I got my writing break. I was lucky that they came and found me.

Would you rather miss a deadline but deliver a perfect project or meet one but compromise on quality?

I’d rather turn it in late and have it be high quality, but I always do the other! I always have this desire to show people that I didn’t let them down and then I completely regret it. Then I’m angry at all the missed opportunities for a better version. So, take your time! Deadlines are fake!

On which show do you think you grew the most as a writer?

I’d say BoJack Horseman. I got to be there for many years, which is such a luxury. Also, Raphael Bob-Waksberg is such a great writer. I got to not only practice year after year, but also learned from someone wonderful while being in a supportive situation.

What attracts you to comedy?

Drama seems too hard! I think it’s what I’ve naturally always been drawn to. I love to have fun. I love to laugh. The idea of helping other people feel joy and see some brightness in the world makes me very happy.