So then bearCarmie Belzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is in charge of the kitchen, but sous chef Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas) provides much of the heart needed in her role as a mother, along with the motley culinary team at the center of FX's streaming hit.
“From the very beginning of the pilot, it was just so much fun,” Colon-Zayas told TV Insider. “It was so much fun. It seemed stressful, but we had so much fun,” she promised, referencing the particular world series creator Christopher Stoller laid out in the beginning of the show, which paved the way for even more complex storylines in Season 2, many of which resonated with so many viewers.
As for why it resonates, Colon Zayas said, “I think as humans, we connect with grief and we create family. [the fact that] We are human beings, messy and complicated, but we can also support one another.'” As a performer with a theater background, Colon-Zayas may have the experience to achieve her goals, but she credits Stoller, Joanna Caro, and the entire crew for pulling together the intricate kitchen scene.
Chuck Hodes/FX
“They're very specific and meticulous,” Colon-Zayas says, but “as much as it's choreographed, they also give us leeway and let our impulses in. So it's magical. He's a magician,” she concludes with a laugh. While there is room for improvisation, Colon-Zayas reveals, “I don't do that a lot. To put it more in my own words, I trust that they know what they're doing.”
By Season 2, Tina's attitude has shifted from Season 1, when she resists Sydney, played by Ayo Edebiri, when she first enters her kitchen. “It was hard at first,” Colon-Zayas admits, but explains Tina's territorial stance in Season 1: “It's not just about protecting my job or my family, but because I've already suffered so much loss. I know Carmie, but it was a long time ago. I don't think Tina is qualified. I'm not young. I'm a woman of a certain age. So I feel like I'm not only protecting myself, but also the family that we've built.”
After overcoming obstacles, it's clear Sydney has found something special in Tina when she asks her to work as a sioux at her new restaurant in Season 2. That reality meant further culinary training for Colon-Zayas, who says, “I love how Season 2 is unfolding. I'm so happy that two women of color from completely different backgrounds have found this friendship and that I've become her pit bull.”
Chuck Hodes/FX
To prepare for her role in the kitchen in season two, Colon-Zayas spent a week training “one-on-one with Chef David Waltack,” who also trained White and Edebiri. “I trained with him for a week, learning the basics of slicing, dicing, and different preparation techniques, and then I moved to Chicago and continued training with culinary producer Chef Courtney Stoller in my apartment,” she said. [Moss-Bachrach] Or Ayo, or Jeremy.”
The scenes in which Tina attends her cooking class show her mastery of the technique, especially when she carves up a fish. “There was a lot of sacrifice on the sea bass,” she says. Despite the flawless scene, Colon-Zayas reveals, “I heard from other chefs, and they were like, 'Yeah, that knife is too big for what you're doing, so it's amazing that you were able to carve so clearly with that giant knife.' So it felt good.”
Learning to cook was one challenge, but Colon-Zayas faced the “equally terrifying” challenge of performing Tina's karaoke scene. “I have no singing experience. I have theater experience, but no musical theater experience, no singing experience. So that was terrifying for me,” she confesses. Still, she acknowledges that the series' creative team has their “own way” of showing “what each character needs,” adding, “And for Tina, it wasn't about how well she could sing. It was about getting out of her comfort zone.”
When she returns to the kitchen with Carmie, Sydney and company at the end of Season 2, she resumes her role as honorary mom of the group. “I think that's what it means when Tina gives tough love and then shows her soft side. In a way, she's part of the group. So no one's saying you're the mom of the restaurant. It just comes naturally because of your age,” Colon-Zayas says with a laugh. “I have so much love for them.”
As for how Colon-Zayas wants viewers to feel, bear“I want them to feel seen. I think as humans we carry a lot of shame, secrets and pressures. I hope we can continue to find ways to shine a light on this shame so we can continue to break the harmful habits we all have. No matter what age you are, you are needed. You are not unwanted.”
bearSeason 3 premiere, Thursday, June 27, on Hulu
