Warning! This post contains minor spoilers for The Bear season two.
After The Bear’s first season aired on Hulu and Disney+ last year to rave reviews, it seems like some of Hollywood’s biggest names got on the phone to their agents with one aim: to land them a guest spot in round two.
The result? The second season of The Bear – which debuted in the United States earlier this year and finally arrived on Disney+ in the UK last week – is absolutely jam-packed with cameos from major stars.
While the drama’s debut series was mainly set within the confines of The Original Beef Of Chicagoland, the sandwich shop that protagonist Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) inherits after the death of his brother, the second instalment has a wider focus.
With Carmy set on revamping the shop as a fine dining restaurant, he sends his staff off to other upmarket eateries to learn the tricks of the trade, meaning there’s plenty of scope for guest appearances.
First, Guardians Of The Galaxy 3’s Will Poulter crops up as a pastry chef based in Denmark, who is tasked with teaching Marcus (Lionel Boyce) the art of all things dessert-related.
Then, later in the series in episode seven, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) trains at a high-end restaurant helmed by Chef Terry, who is name-dropped throughout the episode but remains unseen.
While he’s wondering around the kitchen looking for something, Richie eventually bumps into the fabled Terry – who just so happens to be played by Oscar winner Olivia Colman.
While calmly slicing mushrooms, Terry tells Richie all about her tumultuous journey to the top of the culinary game, and seriously inspires him in the process.
She only gets about five minutes of screen time, but Olivia’s brief appearance in the show was enough to leave fans reeling...
Others hailed the cameo – and the entire episode – as one of the show’s best so far.
Speaking to Rolling Stone about the scene, Ebon admitted that even though he knew in advance that he’d be acting alongside Olivia, he still felt “a little bit surprised” when she turned up.
“They said she was going to do it, and I was still a little bit surprised when she showed up on set,” he said. “I was like, “Oh wow, this is real.’”
“It was great,” he added. “I mean, she’s such a good actor. When she showed up she said in her perfect, beautiful accent, ‘Oh, I do hope I don’t screw anything up. I really hope they like me,’ and I was like, ‘OK, stop it, you’re Olivia Colman, Come on.’”
Elsewhere in The Bear’s second season, flashbacks provide an opportunity for plenty more famous faces to make an appearance. In episode six, which is set five years in the past during a family Christmas, Jamie Lee Curtis appears as Carmy’s imposing mother Donna Berzatto.
American Horror Story’s Sarah Paulson appears as a Berzatto cousin, with comedian John Mulaney cropping up as her boyfriend.
As if that wasn’t enough star power, Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk appears in the same episode as Uncle Lee, an argumentative family friend.
And if you still can’t get enough of Olivia Colman? The British star will be reprising her role as Nick’s mum Sarah in the second season of Netflix hit Heartstopper, which lands on the streaming service next month.
She’s also set to star in Wicked Little Letters, a film about a poison pen scandal that gripped a British village, which will debut at the Toronto Film Festival this autumn.
The Bear season two is streaming now on Disney+.