Ben Stiller admits he envies the breakneck pace at which FX’s kitchen dramedy The Bear is filmed, telling IndieWire that co-creator Christopher Storer can “knock out an episode in about ninety minutes” while Stiller labors through multi-day shoots on his Apple TV+ thriller Severance. The remark surfaced during press rounds for Severance’s upcoming second season, where the director-actor contrasted the shows’ workflows.
The Bear typically captures an entire ten-episode run in a little over a month, moving through dialogue-heavy kitchen scenes at a clip more associated with live television than prestige streaming. Its celebrated 18-minute uninterrupted take from season one, later dissected in film-school seminars, epitomises the company-on-edge tempo that allows the crew to finish principal photography before some series complete table reads.
Stiller told Vanity Fair he averages nine shooting days for every hour of finished Severance, a cadence he called “unsustainable” as audiences grow restless between seasons. He added that he is experimenting with smaller crews and more handheld work to shorten the gap before season three without “rushing the craft”.
While Stiller tweaks his playbook, FX has staked June 25 2025 for the premiere of The Bear’s fourth season, having wrapped production alongside season three earlier this year. Industry observers noted that some scenes for season four were shot concurrently with season three, though the cast later clarified that only select sequences overlapped.
Comparisons between the two directors’ methods have become a talking point at guild panels, with union advisers using Storer’s sprint and Stiller’s marathon to illustrate how creative ambition can coexist with divergent schedules.
