# Napkins (The Bear)
**"Napkins"** is the sixth episode of the third season of the American comedy-drama series *The Bear*, first aired on June 26, 2024. Directed by [Ayo Edebiri](https://www.edgepedia.org/ayo-edebiri) in her television directing debut and written by Catherine Schetina, it is a flashback episode telling how Tina Marrino, played by [Liza Colón-Zayas](https://www.edgepedia.org/liza-colon-zayas), came to work at the Berzatto family's sandwich shop, The Original Beef of Chicagoland.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_bear/s03/e06) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32330878/fullcredits/) • [3](https://time.com/6991369/the-bear-season-3-review/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Episode | Season 3, episode 6 of *The Bear*; aired June 26, 2024 on Hulu[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_bear/s03/e06) |
| Director | Ayo Edebiri, her first directing credit[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32330878/fullcredits/) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-08-18/the-bear-fx-napkins-ayo-edebiri-liza-colon-zayas-jon-bernthal) |
| Writer | Catherine Schetina; series created by Christopher Storer[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_bear/s03/e06) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32330878/fullcredits/) |
| Premise | A flashback following Tina after a layoff, through her first visit to The Beef and the encounter with Mikey Berzatto that leads to her being hired[3](https://time.com/6991369/the-bear-season-3-review/) |
| Guest cast | Jon Bernthal as Mikey Berzatto; David Zayas as Tina's husband, David[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-08-18/the-bear-fx-napkins-ayo-edebiri-liza-colon-zayas-jon-bernthal) • [5](https://epub.stripes.com/docs/GSS_GSS_050724/GSS_GSS_050724.pdf) |
| Music | Kate Bush's "The Morning Fog," used almost in its entirety[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-08-18/the-bear-fx-napkins-ayo-edebiri-liza-colon-zayas-jon-bernthal) |
| Recognition | Edebiri's nomination made her the first Black woman nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards[6](https://womensmediacenter.com/assets/site/reports/womens-media-center-2025-report-gender-and-non-acting-emmy-nominations/2025-WMC-EMMYS-REPORT-ON-GENDER-AND-NONACTING-NOMS.pdf) |
## Premise and plot
The episode steps away from the present-day kitchen of the restaurant The Bear to recount Tina's origin. At a desperate moment in a post-layoff job search, she wanders into The Beef. Sensing her distress, Richie gives her a free coffee and sandwich, and that act of care leads to a tearful conversation with Mikey. When Tina asks him, "Do you like the work?", he answers, "I like the people." Tina gets it, and he hires her.[3](https://time.com/6991369/the-bear-season-3-review/)
The central scene takes place in the sunlit backroom of Mikey's Italian beef sandwich shop in Chicago, where Tina, hiding in a corner and dabbing her tears with a paper-thin napkin, is approached by Mikey, who sits down and offers a sympathetic ear.[7](https://spectrum.rosco.com/how-filmmakers-created-windowlit-drama-with-a-view-on-the-bear) • [8](https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/the-bear-napkins-liza-colon-zayas/) The episode closes at home, where Tina tells David that things went great and takes out her new work shirt.[9](https://the-bear.fandom.com/wiki/Napkins)
## Production
**Direction.** "Napkins" marked Ayo Edebiri's first directing credit; she also plays [Sydney Adamu](https://www.edgepedia.org/sydney-adamu), Carmy's second-in-command, in the series.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32330878/fullcredits/) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-08-18/the-bear-fx-napkins-ayo-edebiri-liza-colon-zayas-jon-bernthal) In an interview she described the episode as "a bottle episode for Tina," and said the experience was "such a beautiful experience top to bottom."[10](https://chronicleclub.in/storage/uploads/1749277816-wsj.pdf) For the blocking, the arrangement and movement of performers in a scene, she drew on what she found in [Akira Kurosawa](https://www.edgepedia.org/akira-kurosawa)'s films, a "slightly strange or unnatural blocking."[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-08-18/the-bear-fx-napkins-ayo-edebiri-liza-colon-zayas-jon-bernthal)
Her direction of the central scene was marked by restraint. Bernthal and Colón-Zayas were opposite each other the whole time the cameras rolled, which Edebiri and the actors credited with adding a rawness to the interaction; her notes were to "hold this as long as possible, and it has to be as still as possible." Colón-Zayas described the approach as "almost hands-off. She really let us do our thing."[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-08-18/the-bear-fx-napkins-ayo-edebiri-liza-colon-zayas-jon-bernthal)
**Music.** Edebiri fought skeptical producers to use almost the entirety of the [Kate Bush](https://www.edgepedia.org/kate-bush) song "The Morning Fog," even after *Stranger Things* had returned Bush's "Running Up That Hill" to the charts. She explained her reading of the song: "there's this woman who's being shipwrecked and she's being born again." Securing the rights required a letter-writing campaign with Bush, who approved with one qualification: "You have to use the lyrics."[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-08-18/the-bear-fx-napkins-ayo-edebiri-liza-colon-zayas-jon-bernthal)
**Cinematography.** For the backroom scene between Tina and Mikey, RoscoVIEW panels, camera-blocking filtration used to control light through windows, were attached to frames rigged outside the windows of a Chicago location, allowing the filmmakers to shoot the windowlit interior drama on location.[7](https://spectrum.rosco.com/how-filmmakers-created-windowlit-drama-with-a-view-on-the-bear)
## Cast and characters
The episode centers on Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina, in what reviews described as a well-deserved spotlight turn for the actor, a 30-year veteran of television and the New York theater scene.[3](https://time.com/6991369/the-bear-season-3-review/) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-08-18/the-bear-fx-napkins-ayo-edebiri-liza-colon-zayas-jon-bernthal) [Jon Bernthal](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-bernthal) returns as [Mikey Berzatto](https://www.edgepedia.org/mikey-berzatto), Carmy's late brother, in what one review called another scene-stealing performance.[5](https://epub.stripes.com/docs/GSS_GSS_050724/GSS_GSS_050724.pdf) [David Zayas](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-zayas), Colón-Zayas's real-life husband, plays Tina's spouse, named, yes, David.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-08-18/the-bear-fx-napkins-ayo-edebiri-liza-colon-zayas-jon-bernthal) Several series regulars, including Jeremy Allen White as Carmy and Edebiri as Sydney, appear in credit only.[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32330878/fullcredits/)
Colón-Zayas said she "burst into tears" when she first read the script, and had no apprehensions about taking center stage.[11](https://www.tvinsider.com/1141801/the-bear-tina-episode-napkins-liza-colon-zayas-ayo-edebiri-jon-bernthal/)
## Reception
Critics ranked the episode among the season's standouts. *Time* called it a flashback episode "beautifully directed by Edebiri" that gives Colón-Zayas a well-deserved turn in the spotlight.[3](https://time.com/6991369/the-bear-season-3-review/) *Vanity Fair* called it "another standout, a gentle look back at one character's origin story" with graceful performances, especially from Colón-Zayas.[12](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/the-bear-season-3-review) *The Atlantic* placed it among the season's standout episodes, following Tina in the weeks before she landed in the Berzatto family's orbit and illustrating how her need for a routine is both an asset and a hindrance to her happiness.[13](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/06/the-bear-season-3-review/678812/) *The Washington Post* counted "Napkins" and "Ice Chips" as the season's two standout episodes, both taking place outside the restaurant.[14](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2024/06/27/the-bear-season-three-review/) On Rotten Tomatoes the episode holds reviews including an A- from [The A.V. Club](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-a-v-club), whose critic wrote that "a fantastic Liza Colón-Zayas takes centerstage in Napkins."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_bear/s03/e06)
At the 77th [Primetime Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/primetime-emmy-awards), Edebiri's directing of the episode earned a nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, making her the first Black woman nominated in that category; she was also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for playing Sydney.[6](https://womensmediacenter.com/assets/site/reports/womens-media-center-2025-report-gender-and-non-acting-emmy-nominations/2025-WMC-EMMYS-REPORT-ON-GENDER-AND-NONACTING-NOMS.pdf)
## Place in the series
"Napkins" continues *The Bear*'s tradition of spotlighting individual characters in single-character episodes, following the season 2 episode centered on Marcus.[4](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-08-18/the-bear-fx-napkins-ayo-edebiri-liza-colon-zayas-jon-bernthal) • [15](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/the-bear-season-4-hulu-disney-plus) Its themes sit within the show's broader concern with care and interdependence: Tina's line to Mikey, "I don't need to save the world, I just wanna feed my kid," is cited by *Time* as part of a season-wide motif of parent-child bonds.[3](https://time.com/6991369/the-bear-season-3-review/) The episode's title also connects to the show's established imagery of napkin dispensers at The Beef, which Mikey is filling when the episode's key conversation begins.[16](https://tvobsessive.com/2024/07/02/the-bear-s3e6-napkins-cleans-up-as-the-bears-best-new-episode/)
## References
1. [The Bear: Season 3, Episode 6 "Napkins" – Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_bear/s03/e06)
2. ["The Bear" Napkins (TV Episode 2024) – Full cast & crew – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt32330878/fullcredits/)
3. [In *The Bear*'s Intense Third Season, a Restaurant Can't Thrive on Food Alone – Time](https://time.com/6991369/the-bear-season-3-review/)
4. [Inside the making of Emmy-nominated 'The Bear' episode 'Napkins' – Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2025-08-18/the-bear-fx-napkins-ayo-edebiri-liza-colon-zayas-jon-bernthal)
5. [Stripes newspaper feature on The Bear, May 7, 2024](https://epub.stripes.com/docs/GSS_GSS_050724/GSS_GSS_050724.pdf)
6. [Women's Media Center 2025 Report on Gender and Non-Acting Emmy Nominations](https://womensmediacenter.com/assets/site/reports/womens-media-center-2025-report-gender-and-non-acting-emmy-nominations/2025-WMC-EMMYS-REPORT-ON-GENDER-AND-NONACTING-NOMS.pdf)
7. [How Filmmakers Created Windowlit Drama With a View on "The Bear" – Rosco Spectrum](https://spectrum.rosco.com/how-filmmakers-created-windowlit-drama-with-a-view-on-the-bear)
8. [Inside The Bear Episode 'Napkins' With Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) – Country & Town House](https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/the-bear-napkins-liza-colon-zayas/)
9. [Napkins – The Bear Wiki](https://the-bear.fandom.com/wiki/Napkins)
10. [WSJ interview with Ayo Edebiri](https://chronicleclub.in/storage/uploads/1749277816-wsj.pdf)
11. ['The Bear': Liza Colón-Zayas on Tina's Episode 'Napkins' – TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/1141801/the-bear-tina-episode-napkins-liza-colon-zayas-ayo-edebiri-jon-bernthal/)
12. [The Bear Leaves Us Hungry in Season 3 – Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/the-bear-season-3-review)
13. [It's Easy to Get Lost in *The Bear* – The Atlantic](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/06/the-bear-season-3-review/678812/)
14. [In its third season, 'The Bear' gets avant-garde – The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2024/06/27/the-bear-season-three-review/)
15. [The Bear season 4: everything you need to know – TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/the-bear-season-4-hulu-disney-plus)
16. [The Bear S3E6: "Napkins" Cleans Up as The Bear's Best New Episode – TV Obsessive](https://tvobsessive.com/2024/07/02/the-bear-s3e6-napkins-cleans-up-as-the-bears-best-new-episode/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Episodes and serial chapters › Individual episode articles › General episode articles › Comedy and comedy-drama episodes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license