As we prepare for the 32nd Actor Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA, Backstage is breaking down this year’s film and television ensemble nominees for your consideration.
Main cast: Lionel Boyce‚ Liza Colón-Zayas‚ Ayo Edebiri‚ Abby Elliott‚ Edwin Lee Gibson‚ Matty Matheson‚ Ebon Moss-Bachrach‚ and Jeremy Allen White
Casting by: Jeanie Bacharach and Maggie Bacharach
Created by: Christopher Storer
Distributed by: FX
Chaos is a vital ingredient of the Chicago restaurant at the center of this series. But on Season 4, when an influential food critic uses that word to call Carmy Berzatto’s (Jeremy Allen White) place inconsistent, it stings. Yet that same mayhem radiating from Carmy is also what powers the show’s comedy (and drama), and it ripples through everyone who works beside him.
Doubt continues to plague chef Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri). On the standout fourth episode, “Worms” (co-written by Edebiri and Lionel Boyce), time away from the kitchen forces her to face a life-changing decision: stay in an unpredictable partnership or become head chef in a more stable environment? The distance briefly eases her tension, making a clean break feel obvious, but Edebiri keeps the focus on Sydney’s ongoing question of where she belongs.
At the restaurant, the team races to turn a profit without sacrificing ambition. Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) finds his footing running the most consistent dining experience, while Tina Marrero (Liza Colón-Zayas) pushes to improve her timing. Colón-Zayas makes us feel every second of Tina’s effort with a mix of vulnerability and stubbornness.
The front of the house has Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s suit-wearing Richie Jerimovich embracing his new dream-facilitator role. He even makes it “snow” in the summer for a restaurant guest who longs for winter. But his heart is at risk of breaking when he attends his ex-wife Tiffany’s (guest star Gillian Jacobs) wedding. There, circumstances pack 16 cast members underneath a table, and unresolved tensions surface. In such scenes, the show is at its funniest and most captivating: a reminder that, in the end, family is this show’s special sauce.