The Bear’s Pilot Episode Originally Didn’t Feature A Fan-Favorite Character

Three years and four seasons in — a near-legendary clip in the modern age of extended TV production cycles — “The Bear” has firmly cemented itself as one of the definitive shows of the decade. The combination of comedy, drama, family trauma, a fantastic ensemble, superstar cameos, and a prevailing adoration for food and the restaurant business has turned the FX/Hulu series into a massive hit and a multi-time Emmy winner. But just like any show, it took “The Bear” a while to fine-tune itself from the early idea stage into the acclaimed series we ultimately got.

While the kitchen angle — the beauty, creativity, passion, stress, and occasional rage — was always there, certain elements were shifted around from the original pilot scripts, and that included Ayo Edebiri’s Sydney Adamu debuting sooner than planned. 

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in 2022, co-showrunner Joanna Calo explained that the series initially would have featured a major blow-up from Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy in the early goings, which the team ultimately chose to hold for later on, drawing out the tension. But the bigger surprise to fans, given the character’s immense popularity, will likely be that Sydney wasn’t originally slated to enter the story until episode 3 of season 1.

Ultimately, the character proved too strong and central for her debut to be delayed that long. “I loved her,” Calo explained to THR. “I said, ‘Let’s get her in.'”

Delaying the introduction of Sydney by two episodes may not seem like a big change, and in reality, the show would have quickly reached the same point regardless of when she showed up. At the same time, it feels wild to consider that one of the core characters — someone positioned from the jump as a foil to Carmy — wasn’t planned to appear in the first two episodes.

“The Bear” is an ensemble show. Everyone from Marcus (Lionel Boyce) and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) to Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) and Sugar (Abby Elliott) all get major storylines and development, and that’s without even getting into the smaller roles, all of which receive a similar level of care. But the core relationship between Carmy and Syd is particularly pivotal, especially in season 1. Their complicated relationship, at times peers, at others mentor/mentee, always circling the same passion for their work but colliding in their emotional circumstances, serves as a foundation for much of the early writing. For that reason, it makes total sense that Calo and the rest of the creative team made the choice to bump up Syd’s introduction in season 1.

For her part, Edebiri has turned into a star since debuting on the show, winning an Emmy for her performance as Syd in 2023 and earning nominations again in 2024 and 2025. She may get the nod again in 2026 for her performance in “The Bear” season 4.