Entertainment
Does Bradley Cooper's R-Rated, High-Stress Movie, Exist In The Same Universe As The Bear?
By TeeJay Small
| Published
If you’re a big fan of FX’s The Bear, but you don’t have 30 hours to spend binge-viewing it, you might be better off just watching 2015’s Burnt, starring Bradley Cooper. It’s effectively the same kitchen confidential, complete with a temperamental chef who loves to scream at his employees, minus some of the unnecessary side plots about unresolved family trauma, making it impossible to cook linguine. The film, which is currently streaming for free on Plex, managed to go largely under the radar upon release, possibly due to the studio’s complete mismanagement when getting it into theaters.
Burnt was written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and directed by John Wells. Wells is best known as an executive producer and showrunner of such hit programs as ER, The West Wing, Shameless, and The Pitt. Bradley Cooper portrays the irascible Michelin star recipient Adam Jones, who loses it all in the first act after tearing his kitchen apart in a drug-induced rage. Already, we’re seeing shades of Jon Bernthal’s Mikey from The Bear, here.
After undergoing a self-imposed exile and maintaining his sobriety, Jones decides to get the band back together, with the intention of earning a coveted three-star title from Michelin. Over the course of the film, we’re introduced to a variety of new and returning kitchen staff, each of whom shares their reservations about working with this maniac in another restaurant environment. One by one, they’re won over by Jones’ claims that he’s changed, or his incredible food, or his passion for the art of charging four figures for a deconstructed bowl of soup.
Once they finally get things up and running, there’s a disastrous opening night. A skilled editor could easily combine the opening night scene from Burnt with multiple episodes of The Bear, and they would blend seamlessly. After roughly 90 minutes of kitchen jargon, shouting about reviews from food critics, and an emphasis on the staff’s nightly family meal, we learn that the true art behind cooking isn’t feeding families; it’s addressing why chefs are all out of their minds.
Burnt is a fun, if imperfect movie, which can help to shed some light on a high-stress kitchen environment if you’ve never worked in one. Unfortunately, it failed to take off and capture hearts in the way that The Bear or even Chef (2014) have. That might be because The Weinstein Company fumbled the film’s release so badly that many fans couldn’t keep up with the release schedule in the first place.
After initially advertising a wide release on October 2, 2015, the production studio delayed the theatrical premiere by several weeks. At the last minute, the studio pivoted without warning and reduced the total number of screens for a limited premiere. Then, they inexplicably cancelled the limited premiere, only to push the official release of Burnt by yet another week, just in case there were any potential fans still keeping up at home. In the end, Burnt still managed to eke out a profit, but didn’t become a cultural phenomenon in its day.
In 2026, the film is best remembered as a prototype for The Bear. Many fans have even taken to the web to ponder whether Burnt and The Bear exist within the same cinematic universe, especially since a still from the movie was used as background dressing in the FX series’ third season. If you’re obsessed with screaming chefs and you’ve exhausted your entire collection of Kitchen Nightmares and Bar Rescue DVDs, feel free to give Burnt a spin on Plex.
Entertainment
A new, AI-powered version of Bumble is coming
Bumble will soon test an AI dating experience called, simply, Dates.
Dates will be powered by Bee, a standalone product feature designed as a personal dating assistant and matchmaker, Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO, said during its Q4 2025 earnings call.
As Bumble told Mashable, users will start using Dates with an onboarding conversation to discuss values, relationship goals, communication style, lifestyle, and dating intentions. These conversations, which will be with “Bee,” will apparently be private and not shared on your profile. Users will also be able to control what elements of the conversation Bee uses to search for matches.
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Then, Bee will identify a highly-compatible profile and notify both users with a description of why they’re a match. If the interest is mutual, the connection moves to a conversation.
“To fully recover and return to growth, we must focus on product and technology innovation, which is where our efforts are now,” Wolfe Herd said during Bumble‘s earnings call. Bumble’s total revenue and paying users had decreased year over year (14 percent and 21 percent, respectively) compared to Q4 2024.
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Wolfe Herd said that since the start of this year, she’s been spending 90 percent of her days with the tech and product teams “reimagining what finding love looks like in the era of AI.”
“We are rearchitecting the entire Bumble experience from start to finish,” she said. Bumble can’t use its legacy tech stack (the set of technologies that together build an app), so it’s building a new, cloud-native tech stack with a targeted launch in Q2. Wolfe Herd said it’s not just a backend upgrade, but a fully new platform coming.
Wolfe Herd also acknowledged the burnout and disillusionment with dating apps as of late. “Daters across the industry are dissatisfied with being reduced to images and potentially dismissed with a swipe,” she said. “Bumble 2.0 introduces a chapter-based structure designed to help members tell their stories more authentically and understand one another more deeply.”
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She said the AI prioritizes fewer, more relevant matches over volume, combats swipe fatigue, and helps members move towards real-world connections.
The beta of Dates is launching soon, and future iterations are expected to incorporate date suggestions and anonymous feedback. Bumble already launched some AI features, Profile Guidance and Photo Feedback, last month.
Back in 2024, Wolfe Herd discussed an AI-powered dating concierge that would basically date for you, so it’s unsurprising that the app is taking this direction.
Other major dating apps, particularly Tinder and Hinge, have also added AI features in the last few years. Tinder is also reportedly testing an AI matchmaker, while Hinge’s latest AI feature helps start better conversations. Hinge‘s founder, Justin McLeod, left the app last year to launch an AI dating service called Overtone.
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Entertainment
This Renpho smart scale is down to its best-ever price at Amazon — act fast to save over $40
SAVE $44: As of March 12, the Renpho MorphoScan Nova Smart Scale is on sale for only $189.98 at Amazon. That’s just shy of 20% off and its best price on record.
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There’s a whole lot more to your health than just your body weight. If you need a little guidance along your health and fitness journey, there’s tons of tech that can help you see the big picture — starting with a smart scale. The Renpho MorphoScan Nova Smart Scale gives you a breakdown of your full body composition and for a limited time, it’s down to its best-ever price.
As of March 12, you can grab the Renpho MorphoScan Nova Smart Scale for only $189.98 at Amazon instead of $233.99. That’s nearly 20% in savings and its best price on record. But you’ll have to act fast to secure the savings. As a Lightning deal, this discount will disappear when the timer runs out.
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The Renpho Smart Scale uses eight high-sensitivity electrodes to track over 50 body metrics, including weight, body fat, muscle mass, BMI, and much more. All metrics will show on the 4.3-inch TFT display, as well as in the user-friendly Renpho app, which can sync up with Apple Health, Google Fit, and MyFitnessPal. The app supports unlimited user profiles and offers personalized health insights for each.
You’ll get historical body data and detailed charts to help you track long-term metrics and get a better glimpse at the big picture, rather than dwelling on daily fluctuations. In other words, this is not for casual users.
The clock is running down, so act quick to score the Renpho MorphoScan Nova Smart Scale for its best price to date.
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Entertainment
Game in 4K and save $300 with this OLED Samsung monitor
SAVE $300: As of March 12, get the Samsung 32-inch OLED M9 smart monitor for $1,299.99 at Amazon. It’s marked down about 20% at Amazon, saving you $300 off its $1,599.99 list price.
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It might be time to upgrade your gaming setup. As much as you may love your gaming laptop, that crook in your neck from hunching over it may be saying otherwise. For a better picture (and posture), bring in a monitor. If you want to go all out, look for a 4K OLED monitor. Although it’ll be an investment, you can always find some savings to sweeten the deal.
As of March 12, shop the Samsung 32-inch OLED M9 smart monitor for $1,299.99. That saves you $300 off its $1,599.99 price tag. The 19% drop in price brings the monitor to its lowest price ever, but there are more savings to be had.
There are extra savings on Samsung monitors, TVs, and soundbars at Amazon. Right now, when you buy two qualifying items, save $100 with code BUYMORE, with savings maxing out at $500 off up to five qualifying items.
So, what’s so special about the Samsung 32-inch OLED M9 smart monitor? Picture quality stuns on this monitor with OLED technology. Plus, you won’t get bogged down with lag with a 165Hz refresh rate. This monitor, which is designed for gaming, doesn’t necessarily need a PC or console to operate thanks to the Samsung Gaming Hub.
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Shop the Samsung 32-inch OLED M9 smart monitor for $1,299.99 and save $300.
A new, AI-powered version of Bumble is coming
This Renpho smart scale is down to its best-ever price at Amazon — act fast to save over $40
