TV Q&A: What went wrong with ‘The Bear’ this season?

Trib Total Media TV writer Rob Owen answers reader questions every Wednesday at TribLive.com in a column that also appears in the Sunday Tribune-Review.

Q: Just wondering what your reaction is to the current “The Bear” season? After last year’s great series, I find this season to be boring and have lost interest. I wasn’t sure if it was just me or if others felt the same.

— Fred, Butler

Rob: Fred is not alone. There’s been a fair bit of critical grousing about the third season of “The Bear,” which declined from a Metacritic average rating of 92 (out of 100) in season two to 80 in season three.

When I wrote about the season when it premiered in late June, I’d only seen the first four episodes of the season and even then I was annoyed by the time-waster of a season premiere that felt like a clip show. It seemed like the show’s writers got high on their own supply.

I’ve since watched the whole season and while I liked some individual episodes, particularly the one devoted to the backstory of Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas), on the whole, the season seemed to be marking time.

The nitty-gritty details of the restaurant business that once seemed interesting have become grating, particularly the fussing over whether to set a wine glass in one spot or a few millimeters to the left. That Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) could not manage to apologize to Claire (Molly Gordon) for an entire season was maddening, as are his perfectionist tendencies. It feels like the writers created a show with a limited amount of storytelling track, which makes me wonder if the upcoming fourth season will mark the show’s end.

“The Bear” also set up a lot this season then never followed through, including Richie’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) ex-wife (Pittsburgh native Gillian Jacobs) getting remarried, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) making a decision to stay at The Bear or leave for a new opportunity and the restaurant review of The Bear getting published (we saw a few words from it but don’t know its real impact yet). Also, why did Ebraheim (former Pittsburgher Edwin Lee Gibson) disappear and why can’t we get an episode devoted to his backstory?

Q: I am a big fan of the show “Evil” on Paramount+. I know this is the last season and I watched episode 12 of season four and was pleasantly surprised because other seasons only had 10 episodes. Would you know how many episodes there are this season?

— Bill, via email

Rob: I’m also an “Evil” fan although I’m far behind on the current season due to trying to keep up with new shows that need to be reviewed (a job hazard).

Paramount+ filmed a 10-episode fourth season of “Evil” and then told producers they had four additional episodes to wrap up the story. Either the fourth season is 14 episodes OR the fourth season was 10 episodes and the fifth season is four episodes, depending on how you want to look at it.

The “Evil” series finale will stream on Aug. 22.

Q: Are the numerous political ads shown during the Olympics airing nationwide or regionally? If regional, who receives the revenue?

— Les, Greensburg

Rob: When any company or organization pays to advertise on TV, it’s the TV station (or network if it’s a national ad) that keeps the revenue.

Regarding political spots during the Olympics, without more specific details it’s impossible to say for sure. WPXI-TV general manager Kevin Hayes did not respond to a general query about the balance of local vs. national political ads airing on his station.

Clearly, an ad for a local candidate will be a local ad buy because no one would spend money they don’t have to spend for a national ad buy. But I also think in many cases, ads for national political figures are also local or regional ad buys given Pennsylvania’s importance as a swing state. It wouldn’t make sense for a candidate to spend an overwhelming amount on national ad buys when so many states are locked in to vote for one party’s candidate or the other, especially at the presidential campaign level.

Q: When a newscast is preempted (like for the Olympics) do they go on vacation or do they have other responsibilities?

— Rodney, via email

Rob: It’s rare for newscasts to be entirely pre-empted. Often they’re just pushed later. Stations use big events like the Olympics when more viewers are tuned in, to promote their newscasts and news talent. Perhaps if a station knows a newscast will be pre-empted entirely then they might operate with a slightly lower staffing, but not everyone can go home since there’s always the possibility of breaking local news.