‘The Bear’ Drops Surprise Episode: Jon Bernthal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach

“The Bear” is getting ready to close its kitchen with its fifth and final season sometime this year. But beforehand, FX is giving fans an amuse bouche while they wait for the main meal.

On Tuesday, May 5, “The Bear” released a surprise, standalone episode of the show on Hulu, without any prior announcement. Titled “Gary,” the hour-long installment isn’t included on the show’s main page, and instead can only be found by searching for it separately as its own title.

The special stars show main cast member and Supporting Actor Emmy winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach as well as frequent recurring star and Best Guest Actor winner Jon Bernthal. The two actors, who are also currently on Broadway together in a stage adaptation of the classic film “Dog Day Afternoon,” co-wrote the episode themselves, with series creator Christopher Storer directing.

A flashback episode set before the plot of the main show, “Gary” follows best friends Richie (Moss-Bachrach) and Mikey (Bernthal) as they go on a work trip together to the titular Gary, Indiana. Per the official description of the episode from FX, the episode focuses on “the two friends’ complicated relationship, uncovering new layers of Mikey’s mental state while offering crucial insight into the man Richie is when audiences first meet him in Season 1 — adding emotional context that reframes their story from the very beginning.”

Although no official announcement was released about the special prior to its launch, Moss-Bachrach revealed the existence of the special in an Instagram post Tuesday morning. “Making this was a dream come true. Thanks to the beautiful people of Gary, Indiana, and as always Chicago, Illinois,” he wrote.

“Gary” comes to streaming as fans await the official premiere date for the show’s fifth season, which is expected — like all other seasons before it — to launch sometime in June. The series, which stars Jeremy Allen White as a troubled chef who takes over his brother’s sandwich shop and transforms it into a fine-dining restaurant, also stars Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, and Edwin Lee Gibson.

Read Moss-Bachrach’s Instagram post below.