Watching The Bear is guaranteed to make you ravenous—especially if you’re into close-up shots of extremely Chicago-coded meats and breads—but once I’d caught up on the show’s third season this weekend, I found myself hungry for something inedible: namely, more shows about camaraderie forged in the fire of a tumultuous workplace. They didn’t even need to be set in a restaurant; they just had to include plenty of professional chaos (and a little gentleness, too).
Below, find seven shows about intense-to-the-point-of-meltdown-inducing workplaces to watch now. (Leave it to them to make you feel endlessly better about any drama going down at your own job.)
Sweetbitter
For those who need another dining-out show to keep them going, this one’s for you. While the FX series adapted from author Stephanie Danler’s smash-hit book wasn’t a huge hit at the time that it aired, its focus on food and the intricacies of restaurant politics (not to mention the hookup culture that runs rampant in so many kitchens) is worth checking out. Plus, it stars Ella Purnell, a.k.a. Jackie from Yellowjackets!
