close
Jump to content

Richie Jerimovich

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richie Jerimovich
The Bear character
First appearance
Last appearance
Created byChristopher Storer
Portrayed byEbon Moss-Bachrach
In-universe information
Full nameRichard Lawrence Jerimovich
Occupation
  • public relations
  • human resources
  • customer experience department lead
FamilyTiffany Jerimovich (ex-wife)
ChildrenEva Jerimovich

Richard Lawrence Jerimovich is a fictional character on the FX Network television series The Bear. Created by Christopher Storer and played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Richie is the "cousin" and de facto foster brother of the three Berzatto siblings. Richie was an assistant manager of the Original Beef of Chicagoland sandwich shop until his best friend, Mikey Berzatto (Jon Bernthal), killed himself. In his will, Mikey bequeathed the restaurant to his younger brother, Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), who had self-exiled from the family in part due to Mikey having shunned him and blockaded him from working at the restaurant. Carmy thus returned to Chicago after many years of absence as an exquisitely trained and nationally acclaimed elite chef, took over the restaurant and sought to reform it in into a respectable place of business, much to the dismay of Richie. In addition to the workplace upheaval wrought by Carmy's reforms, Richie simultaneously struggles with a number of personal issues, first among them his recent divorce from Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), with whom he shares a daughter, Eva. Moss-Bachrach has won two Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Richie. Moss-Bachrach reprised his role in "Gary," which he co-wrote with Bernthal.

Casting

[edit]

Moss-Bachrach originally declined because he was consumed with shooting Andor, but per casting director Jeanie Bacharach, "We circled back to him...We caught him at a time where his schedule and things had cleared enough that he could open his mind to it."[1]

Moss-Bachrach has been nominated for three Emmys and won twice for his portrayal of Richie.[2]

Biography

[edit]

In the episode "Beef," Richie tells Carmy that he is 45 years old, so he was born in about 1978.[3] As Mikey's best friend, Richie spent so much of his childhood at the Berzatto house that he essentially became a part of the family.[4] Per Moss-Bachrach, "I don't think his parents were really in the picture...Mike was very much his anchor and made sure Richie got fed—three square meals a day, probably since the time they were six and eight years old."[5] Richie told Chef Terry in season two that his biological father was a staff sergeant in the U.S. military at one time.[6] Matriarch Donna Berzatto (Jamie Lee Curtis) was so involved in Richie's upbringing that she threw his birthday parties.[7]

He and the Berzatto brothers call each other cousin even though they are not biologically related.[8][3] Richie is a DeVry Technical Institute dropout.[9]


Both Mikey and Richie ended up working at, and eventually running, the Original Beef of Chicagoland restaurant, an Italian beef sandwich shop in the River North neighborhood that had originally been purchased and managed by the unnamed Berzatto dad. Following Mikey's suicide, the Richie introduced in season 1 is a man still deep in grief, which he is medicating with, in the words of Moss-Bachrach, "Bacardi and nachos."[10] Storer told an interviewer in 2022 that:

Richie is a character really dealing with what life is like without not only his boss, but his best friend. And you multiply that by the fact that there is a smaller version of his best friend, Carmy, fighting with him all day long. You see that Richie's this guy that's facing what the world is like 10 years too late, after he is been cooped up in this restaurant. We wanted some of the music in these moments with Richie to feel like they were a little bit stuck in time.[11]

In season 1 in particular, "Richie voices his disapproval [of the changing restaurant] not only verbally but also in practice by ignoring Carmy or taking away Carmy's equipment. His behavior is particularly pronounced in the pilot episode, as Richie hides Carmy's knife under the dirty sink, causing Carmy to withdraw from reality and think of his deceased brother. Whereas Carmy is fueled by the belief in saving the sandwich shop, Richie is fueled by the desire to keep everything the same. Led by feelings of nostalgia and memories, the sandwich shop symbolizes not only his connection to the late Michael but also to his Chicagoan neighborhood. Furthermore, Richie stands out as the sole character who notices the neighborhood undergoing change and voices his agitation. He is left unheard."[12] Simultaneously, Richie "an unmotivated white, male, vulgar, and antagonistic character intra-acts with Sydney, a determined, Black, female, thoughtful, and generous character. Richie is Sydney's foil. Richie's history working at the show's restaurant, The Beef, is extensive and Sydney is the newcomer."[13] He sexually harasses and bullies her, she stabs him, and eventually they become best friends.[citation needed]

Along the way Richie married Tiff, and together they had daughter Eva (Annabelle Toomey); the couple divorced not long before the opening episode of the series.[4] Richie seems to have struggled with maintaining a consistent income during the course of the marriage.[14] In 2024, Gillian Jacobs told The Hollywood Reporter her impression of the Jerimovich marriage after reading the "Fishes" script:[15]

"Richie has gone through a really hard time and he's in grief. He's mourning the loss of his best friend in Mikey, who is almost equal to a romantic partner in terms of importance in his life and to his identity. And you saw this in 'Fishes,' but I could have guessed too, that there's a lot of stuff between Tiffany and Richie around jobs and career. He's not being honest about what’s going on. Once I read that in the script it made total sense to me; especially knowing they were going to have a kid and her wanting to feel like she knows what's going on with him, of course there would be conflict around that dishonesty."[15]

After staging for a week at Ever, Richie finds purpose and puts his natural charm to work in service of the Bear, although his "articulative style remains grounded authentically in his localist milieu rather than reproducing the typical formalities of hospitality best practices. Richie’s creative synthesis and unwillingness (or inability?) to give up key facets of his personality (despite many warnings from Garrett throughout the episode, Richie never stops cursing, for instance) endows him with a durable form of vitality and helps to form a different kind of culinary subject."[16]

Despite strife between him and Carmy, Richie anchors the Bear as front-of-house manager, and by season four, while he is "still prone to dramatic self-flagellation, Richie finally seems like a full-fledged adult...[with] pain and self-doubt right at the surface but [also] a layer of wisdom."[17] Richie creates his own list of non-negotiables as a counter to Carmy's list:[18]

  • A courtesy window for any menu changes. Eight hours is OK. 10 hours is ideal.
  • Trim nails.
  • A willingness to accommodate dietary restrictions.
  • Joy.
  • Open heart, open mind.
  • Basic manners and decency.
  • An environment that embraces and encourages razzle-dazzle and the dream weave.[18]

Richie is responsible for hiring three experienced restaurant employees from the shuttered Ever to shore up the staff of the Bear: Rene (Rene Gube), Garrett (Andrew Lopez), and Chef Jess (Sarah Ramos).[19]

Richie's apartment may be in Ukrainian Village.[20][21] The bar that Richie visits in "Soubise" is J&M Tap on Leavitt Street, which is an "under-the-radar Ukrainian Village gem with a jukebox, cheap drinks, and a laidback vibe."[22][23]

Relationships

[edit]

When Carmy Berzatto returned to Chicago to take over the restaurant, he and Richie immediately settled back into sibling-like squabbling.[24] Richie is introduced as a "lovable brute who cosplays as an Italian and gets into Worldstar-style fights with staff."[25]

Richie has been described as the "most damaged, the most broken, and the most aimless [character], a miasma of resentment and condescension yelling about a changing restaurant in a changing neighborhood to hide his fear."[26] Carmy is often annoyed by Richie's antics, but also cherishes him as the most genuine surviving relic of his brother, such that they ritually share cigarettes and memories of Mikey. Carmy eventually empties the restaurant's cash reserve to bail out Richie after an accidental head injury to a patron results in an arrest and a night in jail.[24] For his part, Richie periodically softens long enough to reveal a tender brotherly affection for the now grown baby of the family, and to reveal a vulnerable weariness and a self-aware sense of shame about the consequences of his choices.[26]

In season two, Carmy sent Richie to stage in the front of house at a fictionalized Ever, a legendary three-Michelin star Chicago restaurant where Carmy had once been chef de cuisine to executive chef Andrea Terry (Olivia Colman). Moss-Bachrach characterized the filming of the episode as a little "lonely" and the Ever set design as "cold" compared to setting of the cozier, more familiar Bear.[27] Terry tells Richie that she agreed to host him because Carmy testified that "he's good with people," with which she agreed. Richie returns to the Bear with a newfound respect for the restaurant business generally and Carmy specifically. This détente between the sibling rivals lasted but two episodes before a minor kitchen crisis resulted in a Carmy breakdown. Richie saved the day by doing expo for Sydney, but his concern for Carmy's then-girlfriend Dr. Claire Dunlap (Molly Gordon), who ended the night in tears, fuels a brutal and emotionally scarring argument between Carmy and Richie that in turn fuels an extended estrangement, which lasts through much of the spring and summer of that year.[26] The fight, argued at maximum volume and maximum vitriol from opposite sides of a locked steel door, has been described as "mutually assured destruction with the red buttons getting smashed by each side."[14]

Richie never apologized for his part in the debacle; in the opinion of one Collider writer, "Saying something so purposely hurtful to Carmy in the heat of the moment was one thing, but refusing to acknowledge it or own up to it was worse."[28] The animosity between the cousins shaped their behavior for the better part of season three: "Carmy is only concerned about his own goals and form of atonement...Richie is only concerned about how much Carmy hurt him, and doesn't seem to consider that when he wastes time causing a scene in the kitchen during service, or he tosses snide digs and picks fights, he is only hurting the restaurant and its employees. At their core, they are each just hurt and angry at each other, and that fuels their respective forms of punishment."[28]

All this came to a head in the season-four finale, "Goodbye," when Carmy's bad communication and apparent retirement from restaurants triggered a ferocious conflict between, first, him and Sydney, and then, second, a more cathartic and confessional discourse between him and Richie. The dialogue and emotion of "Goodbye" has been described as "the conversational equivalent of a thunderstorm that brings a merciful, if furious, end to a heat wave."[29]

Family

[edit]

Eva "Evie" Jerimovich was born on January 12, 2019, according to the timeline presented in "Fishes," "Legacy," and "Gary." Scriptwriters Bernthal and Moss-Bachrach used Mikey giving Richie's daughter her name in "Gary" as a way of "having a continuum, and a lineage" in the family.[30][31]

Richie is a devoted father to Evie, and he and ex-wife work together effectively as loving co-parents.[27] He calls Evie żabka, which is a Polish language endearment meaning little frog.[32]

Evie loves Taylor Swift, and one of her CDs is on permanent rotation in Richie's aging Honda Accord. Richie leans on Uncle Jimmy for Taylor Swift concert tickets, sings along to "Love Story" at an emotional high point in the saga, and Taylor's version of "Style" plays quietly in the background during a quiet moment between father and daughter on the day of Tiff's remarriage.[33]

Richie struggles mightily with the prospect of Tiffany's engagement and he resists the wedding.[34] The season four episode "Bears" centers on Tiff's wedding to second husband Frank (Josh Hartnett), resulting in some level of romantic catharsis for Richie and an opportunity for the entire extended family-by-choice to gather for a happy but typically chaotic event.[35]

Jerimovich (biological)"Aunt DD"
(unofficial mom)
Richard Lawrence Jerimovich (b. c. 1978)
(div. ≤2022)		TiffanyFrank
"Waldo"
Eva Jerimovich
"Żabka"
b. 2019

Other attributes

[edit]

Richie is a huge aficionado of science fiction across all media (books, film, etc.), with a specific interest in the works of Philip K. Dick.[36] When Richie tells Carmy about his struggles finding purpose, he recounts the plot of a book he has been reading. The book is probably Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (Japanese: 色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年, 2013) by Haruki Murakami (村上 春樹).[37][38][39] According to Moss-Bachrach, Richie favors "hard sci-fi," including Dick, Iain Banks, Kim Stanley Robinson, and "He likes the deep stuff, the world-building. Probably Foundation."[5] Before crawling alone, and a little drunk, into "his sad little twin-size bed" in "Soubise," he knocks over a photo of six people (including himself) that sits on a book shelf full of Robert A. Heinlein, Philip K. Dick, Haruki Murakami, and a copy of The Silmarillion.[40]

Richie deploys "SnyderCut" disparagingly, and per Moss-Bachrach, "I don't think he's into Marvel stuff."[5] According to set decorator Eric Frankel, "You can't see it but in Richie's apartment, every book on the shelf is 'Ridley Scott'," and they wanted to put a Legend poster in his apartment but licensing problems made it unworkable.[41]

Richie may or may not be a practicing Roman Catholic but nonetheless he speaks out a prayer at the beginning of season four.[42] Unlike Carmy[17] Richie is charming, quick-witted, and funny.[43] Show creator Storer has cited his friend Christopher Zucchero as an element of the inspiration for the character of Richie.[44]

His butt-cheek "piss Calvin" tattoo is revealed after Sydney stabs him in the butt in "Review." In season one, Richie wears "Branded T-shirts, long sleeves, and baseball raglans are all part of his wardrobe, along with a wedding ring that's a vestige of his broken marriage."[45] GQ described his key season one costume elements as "Adidas high-tops, wonderfully swishy track pants, and [a] black Members Only jacket you could spend a lifetime thrifting for."[46] Following a makeover by the Ever glam squad, Richie starts wearing suits.[47]

According to Chris Storer, "Richie was either at the Monster tour or Rage and Wu-Tang at the Rosemont."[48]

Richie uses a lot of Italian-American slang, some of which Moss-Bachrach gets from a Teamster friend he met on a movie job he had years before The Bear.[10]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Bloom, Mike (June 27, 2026). "The Bear Casting Director Reveals the Character Who Was Originally Written as a Man—and the Star Who Almost Turned the Show Down". Parade.
  2. ↑ "Ebon Moss-Bachrach". Television Academy. Retrieved 2026-01-04.
  3. 1 2 admin (June 23, 2023). "The Bear - S02E01 - Beef | Transcript". Scraps from the loft. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  4. 1 2 Bardini, Julio (July 5, 2023). "'The Bear's Berzatto Family Tree Explained: How Is Everyone Related?". Collider. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  5. 1 2 3 Hadadi, Roxana (June 29, 2022). "The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach on the Art of Playing the Obstacle". Vulture. Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  6. ↑ "s02e07 - Forks script".
  7. ↑ "s04e08 - Green script".[dead link]
  8. ↑ Batey, Eve (June 19, 2024). "The Bear Star Ebon Moss-Bachrach Wants You to Stop Calling Him "Cousin"". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  9. ↑ "The Bear - S01E02 - Hands - Transcript". Scraps from the loft. October 6, 2022. Retrieved 2026-01-04.
  10. 1 2 Ryzik, Melena (June 20, 2023). "Ebon Moss-Bachrach Plays a Prickly Fan Favorite in 'The Bear' (Published 2023)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2025-10-30. Retrieved 2026-01-04.
  11. ↑ Hyden, Steven (July 11, 2022). "Inside The Delightful Dad Rock Soundtrack of The Bear". Uproxx. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  12. ↑ Vi (2025), p. 115.
  13. ↑ Franklin-Phipps & Varga (2024), p. 212.
  14. 1 2 Tabrys, Jason (July 7, 2023). "The Fridge Showdown Showed Richie's True Evolution on 'The Bear'". Uproxx. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  15. 1 2 Rankin, Seija (July 1, 2024). "'The Bear' Star Gillian Jacobs on Tiffany's 'Past Lives' Moment, Taylor Swift Easter Eggs and That Fiancé Reveal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-10-23.
  16. ↑ Fallon (2026), p. 149.
  17. 1 2 Meyer, Carla. "The Bear review: Stellar performances carry Season 4, but story has missing ingredients". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2025-07-26. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  18. 1 2 "s03e03 - Doors script".
  19. ↑ Shaw, Angel (June 29, 2025). "Richie's New The Bear Romance Is All But Confirmed By A Subtle Season 4 Soundtrack Detail". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  20. ↑ Colón, Ambar (February 11, 2026). "'The Bear' has begun filming again in Chicago — here's what we know so far". WBEZ. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  21. ↑ Chicago, Choose (June 26, 2025). "The Bear Chicago Locations & Filming Spots". Choose Chicago. Retrieved 2026-04-23.
  22. ↑ "The Bear Season 4 Chicago Filming Spots". Choose Chicago. June 26, 2025. Retrieved 2025-10-05.
  23. ↑ Karam, Alec (May 18, 2026). "The Ultimate Guide To Every Chicago Restaurant Featured on The Bear". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  24. 1 2 McCormick, Colin; Beverley, Tiffany (June 21, 2023). "Why Carmy Calls Richie "Cousin" In The Bear (They're Not Really Cousins)". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  25. ↑ "Dip Into the Original Beef of Chicagoland with Hulu's The Bear". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  26. 1 2 3 Hadadi, Roxana (June 29, 2023). "Richie's Fork in the Road". Vulture. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  27. 1 2 Baldonado, Ann Marie (June 25, 2025). "Hold the yelling: Ebon Moss-Bachrach says 'The Bear' set is 'very loving'". NPR. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  28. 1 2 Stoddard, Sebastian (July 28, 2024). "I Can't Stop Thinking About This One Line From 'The Bear'". Collider. Retrieved 2025-10-10.
  29. ↑ Lindbergh, Rob (July 2, 2025). "Can 'The Bear' Bury Its Original Beef?". www.theringer.com. Retrieved 2025-10-10.
  30. ↑ Darwish, Meaghan (May 8, 2026). "The Bear Stars Break Down Mikey & Richie's Day Out in 'Gary'". TV Insider. Retrieved 2026-05-09.
  31. ↑ Perry, Spencer (May 5, 2026). "6 Biggest Reveals From The Bear Prequel, "Gary" (And What It Teases About Season 5)". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2026-05-07.
  32. ↑ Gudowska, Malwina (July 26, 2024). "Four Somethings". Motherlingual. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  33. ↑ Murray, Russell (January 31, 2025). "The Bear Family Tree: Every Member Of The Berzatto Family Explained". SlashFilm. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  34. ↑ Scherer, Jenna (July 9, 2024). "Carmy can't apologize to save his life on The Bear". AV Club. Retrieved 2026-04-22.
  35. ↑ Hoo, Fawnia Soo; Wischhover, Cheryl; Nevermind, Whatever (July 24, 2025). "'The Bear' Is Super Stressful, But Its Wedding Dress Code Definitely Isn't". Whatever Nevermind. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  36. ↑ Goldberg, Madison E. (November 30, 2024). "Richie's 7 References From Movies & Famous People In The Bear Explained". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2025-09-18.
  37. ↑ Ramey, Michael (July 22, 2024). "Colorless Richie Jerimovich & His Years of Pilgrimage". The Book Blog - Learning Resources. Palatka, Florida: St. Johns River State College. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
  38. ↑ Travers, Ben (June 23, 2023). "The Bear Season 2: Let's Talk About That Ending, Carmy's Arc, and Providing Joy — Spoilers". IndieWire. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
  39. ↑ "Inspired by "The Bear" — a staff-created book list from the Indianapolis Public Library". Indianapolis Public Library. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
  40. ↑ Scherer, Jenna (June 27, 2025). "On The Bear, Carmy goes on a long-overdue apology tour". AV Club. Retrieved 2025-09-23.
  41. ↑ Daley, Paul (May 22, 2025). "Decorating the Set (Interview with Eric Frankel, Set Decorator on The Bear)". Pod Clubhouse. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  42. ↑ Noval, Roberto J. De La (August 29, 2025). "'The Bear' and the importance of imperfect institutions". America Magazine. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  43. ↑ Alvarado, Aryanna (January 24, 2024). "Richie's 10 Funniest Quotes From The Bear". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2025-09-19.
  44. ↑ Song, Katie (June 26, 2024). "A Candid Chat With the Owner Of Mr. Beef, The Inspiration For 'The Bear'". TV Insider. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
  45. ↑ Menon, Radhika (August 10, 2022). "How The Bear Injected Personality Into the Standard Kitchen Uniform". Vulture. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
  46. ↑ Wolf, Cam (July 27, 2022). "Actually, 'The Bear' Is a Menswear Show". GQ. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  47. ↑ Hoo, Fawnia Soo (December 27, 2023). "'The Bear' Costume Designer on How One Dapper Suit Marks the Turn of Ebon Moss-Bachrach's Richie". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
  48. ↑ Hyden, Steven (July 6, 2023). "A Deep Dive Into the Soundtrack of The Bear With the Guys Who Curated It". UPROXX.

Sources

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richie_Jerimovich&oldid=1363495652"