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FX’s hit series The Bear is making its highly-anticipated return on June 27, and in Season 3, creator Chris Storer and team have the chance to include one of the most iconic needle drops ever: Djo’s “End of Beginning.”
On top of an all star cast, razor-sharp writing, mouthwatering food porn, and a stellar ability to choreograph chaos, one of the Emmy-winning comedy’s defining components is its soundtrack full of ’80s and ’90s rock from bands like Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Radiohead, and Wilco. In a 2023 interview with Variety, Storer and executive producer Josh Senior admitted, “We try very hard to not pick cool music. We don’t want anybody to ever say that we’re picking stuff because it’s cool. We want to pick stuff that we love that feels right for the show. It’s about being authentic and consistent with the work letting the work speak for itself.” The team makes a concerted effort to abide by that vision, but Season 2’s perfectly-executed Taylor Swift needle drop proved exceptions are possible. So here I am, requesting another one.
Since its 2022 release, “End of Beginning” by Djo — the musical moniker for Stranger Things actor Joe Keery — has exploded on social media, snagging the top spot on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 earlier this year. With billions of global views on TikTok (a 27-second snippet of the song was used in 2.3 million videos, while a minute-long version appeared in nearly 130,000 others), it’s safe to say the track is one of 2024’s most popular earworms. As Rolling Stone noted, the song typically accompanies users’ romanticized Chicago edits on TikTok, videos in the “If I won the lottery” trend, and clips of Keery fans finding out he’s the voice behind Djo. But for fans of The Bear, the lyrical love letter to Chicago has also become an honorary theme song for Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy Berzatto and other characters of the Chicago-based show.
With lyrics like “And when I’m back in Chicago, I feel it / Another version of me, I was in it / I wave goodbye to the end of beginning,” the non-single track off Djo’s album, Decide, simultaneously drips with nostalgia while carrying appreciation for the present and hopes for the future. The 32-year-old actor and musician, who attended DePaul University, wrote “End of Beginning” a few years back when a Chicago visit left him flooded with emotions about the past and how far he’s come. “It’s about coming back to a place that meant so much to you and was a really big part of your life, but your life has moved on and taken you elsewhere,” Keery told Variety. “That’s what happens to me when I go to Chicago. It’s hard for me not to imagine who I was, what my life was like. It is obviously a nostalgic song — I think it sounds pretty nostalgic too, just the whole atmosphere of the song. But I think ultimately, the song is about living for the day and not getting too wrapped up in the past but appreciating it for what it was.”
Much like Djo’s song, Storer’s show explores the importance of endings, beginnings, the passage of time, life-altering introspection, change, and personal growth. The two works of art not only capture feelings of magic and palpable potential in a place of personal significance — in this case, Chicago — but they acknowledge the undeniable truth that past informs present, so it’s understandable why the song has The Bear fans saying, “Yes, chef.” In addition to the catchy chorus, the lyrics “You take the man out of the city, not the city out the man,” inspired a slew of Carmy-centric edits that show snippets of the chef’s story. He left the family business behind in pursuit of a culinary career in fine dining, only to return home to run the Chicago sandwich shop when his late brother Michael died by suicide. After a rough road, Carmy finally found his footing in Season 2, embarking on a new phase of life by opening a new restaurant, which we’ll see more of in Season 3.
“This is his song. Before I even started the show I knew it was his song,” a TikTok montage of Carmy clips with 330,000 views reads. A Season 1 Carmy edit with 284,000 views features comments such as “this song was MADE for him” and “This song needs to be in the next season bro.” Though Keery told Rolling Stone he didn’t anticipate the song taking off on TikTok years after its release, even he admits he’s seen The Bear edits, joking, “I feel like I owe Jeremy Allen White.”
While a majority of The Bear-themed edits are Carmy heavy, the track is also set to clips of Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Mikey (Jon Bernthal), SydCarmy, and more general show recaps. No matter the selection, the combination of sound and show hits every time.
While some may feel the seamless full body chills sensation that the track was meant to coexist with the series is proof that its inclusion would be too on the nose, much like Season 1’s inclusion of Sufjan Stevens’ “Chicago,” I’d see a Djo needle drop as the series owning, embracing, and celebrating an inextricably linked identity. For those worried the selection may read too much like fan service, we know The Bear masterfully harnesses music as a means to evoke or amplify emotion, so what better way to do that than through a song that already resonates so strongly with viewers? Sure, “End of Beginning” is “cool” and hit the charts this year, which suggests it wouldn’t be a typical soundtrack addition. But as far as authenticity goes, it would fit the show’s vibe and tell a consistent story, not to mention, it would display a delightful level of awareness from Storer.
TikTok proved Djo’s “End of Beginning” is a perfect track to lay over moody shots of characters, carefully crafted dishes, and defining Chicago cityscapes. Only time will tell if The Bear is ready to cook up an edit of its own.
The Bear Season 3 premieres June 27 on Hulu. Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available to stream.
