Sightlines · reception

How Gary was received

2026 · Christopher Storer · Gary on Sightlines

What’s debated

Half the fun is that nobody can agree on what it is — a movie, an episode, or a 'special' — and it split rooms hard on arrival: Esquire named it among 2026's best TV, while The Daily Beast called it 'so freaking bad' for its wandering pace.

Its footprint

It arrived as a genuine surprise drop in May 2026, teased only by a cryptic Jon Bernthal Instagram post captioned 'Richie. And. Mikey.' — and the guessing game around that teaser was half the event.

Where it stands

An instant curio of the streaming era: a TV-show flashback with its own Letterboxd page, logged and star-rated like cinema, and already a fan-favorite text for people who think Mikey and Richie were The Bear's beating heart all along.

Did you know? Christopher Storer directed it, but he didn't write it — the script is by its two stars, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal, and it was shot on 35mm in roughly a week, with the Koney King restaurant scene unscripted and captured in a single take.