Last week, I admitted to watching Bill Maher’s monologue drawing ire of all persuasions as I anticipated. This week, it occurred to me while watching another show that there may be value for radio programmers in it, “The Bear.” Seriously, if you’re not watching “The Bear,” it’s not only one of the best current shows; it’s easily one of the best character dramas that’s ever been on TV, right up there next to “Mad Men” and “The Sopranos.”
From a production standpoint, the show’s unfailing attention to detail, character development, and atmosphere all jump out. All worthy reminders when considering the execution of format, personalities on air and how your listeners know them, and stationality/presentation. But really, what strikes me watching the show (which, if you aren’t aware, focuses on a family-run restaurant in Chicago) is the passion the characters have for their craft, what they do, for each other, for the restaurant itself.
Whether the loud, fast-paced, stress-inducing scenes of the team during a dinner run, the main protagonist Carmen painstakingly tinkering with the presentation of food on a dish, pastry chef Marcus traveling to Copenhagen for training, Natalie agonizing over the inventory ledger or front of house. Richie, working with a 5-star chef and having a born-again experience, you can see the echo of a great radio station staff.
The third and current season focuses on the family neighborhood restaurant evolving into a critically acclaimed hot spot, and one episode that stood out involved a heritage 5-star going out of business and how deeply it affects the crew at “The Bear” (that’s the name of the restaurant on the show in addition to the name of the show by the way)
Each of them feels a sense that change is the only inevitability, and it plunges them into working even harder to earn their own place in the echelon of top eats. The question is, do each of us who oversee a radio station(s) have a crew that cares like this and strives for perfection while working to be their best and better every day?
Does our station(s) have that unique, one-of-a-kind local feel and atmosphere? Is the output the finest that can be produced with the highest quality ingredients? Even with a yes to each of these kinds of questions, “The Bear” depicts a staff member on edge and a restaurant that may go under at any time.
Radio’s reaction to that sort of situation seems often to be to quietly quit on itself. Either way, there are episodes to come that I need to catch up on, so don’t spoil the endings for me, okay?
Robby Bridges works for Press Communications where he serves as the VP of Programming for 99.7 and 107.1 The Boss. He also hosts the morning show ‘Robby and Rochelle’ alongside his wife, Rochelle. He’s been with the company/stations since September, 2021.
Prior to arriving in New Jersey, Robby spent decades working across the country in many top markets for many highly successful brands. Among them include Z100, WPLJ and Q102. He has also worked in Detroit, Boston, Providence, Portsmouth, NH, and served as an exclusive guest host for Scott Shannon on the True Oldies Channel.
To get in touch, reach Robby by email at RobbyBridges@hotmail.com.
