ALARM! ALARM! Spoilers to follow. Proceed at your own risk.  

THE BEAR is full of lit sticks of dynamite the main character has to juggle. 

First up, the closest circle of folks around Carmy, his family...

• Mikey. Carmy’s dead brother, who we see in flashback. His fiscal irresponsibility and depression laid the foundation for many of Carmy's problems. Even though he's gone, Mikey will have a powerful effect on Carmy and the restaurant's fortunes.

• Natalie. His nurturing sister, worried about him. Project manager for the restaurant renovation, she's adept, but dealing with her family, the schedule, permits, her pregnancy, and the restaurant's band of corrosive misfits is wearing her ragged. She and Carmy struggle to navigate their relationship and grief after their brother’s suicide. 

• Donna. Carmy’s unhinged, tearful mother. An alcoholic with a scary martyr complex. At a holiday dinner she solo-cooks an insanely complex family recipe, howls that no one loves her, and drives a car into the living room. Her erratic behavior presents a whale-size issue for Carmy to deal with. 

• Pete. Natalie’s husband. Naive and sweet. No one likes him, probably because he's so upbeat all the time. 

Next up, the restaurant staff. Each a fruitful source of trouble and strife for our harried Main Character...

• Richie. Mikey's charismatic but insanely abrasive best friend, starts as an incompetent slacker with no discernible virtues other than a sharp ex-wife and a talent for selling cocaine. After an internship at a much classier restaurant, he suddenly switches on and becomes a front of house asset... but his irrational temper can still ignite Carmy in an instant.

• Sydney. The sandwich shop's young female sous chef is clever, hard working, organized, and has solid cooking experience. Despite her age, when Carmy levels up the restaurant, he promotes her to Chef de Cuisine. How does this sit with the close-knit kitchen staff? Not well. She and Carmy struggle for control in the kitchen.

• Tina. Chef. Older, she's ruggedly independent and resents Sydney's becoming her boss and endlessly undermines her. Carmy sends Tina to culinary school, which proves invaluable. When he gets locked in the walk in, she calms him down.

• Marcus. A baker, kind, with a positive attitude and a very ill mother. He loves baking and is good at anything he tries. Badly organized, he gets woefully behind, partially because he concentrates on baking. He's got a crush on Sydney, which becomes a problem.

• Fak. Sloppy fix it man. Would rather tell a goofy story than work. Seems ridiculously incompetent, especially when under pressure. Endlessly targeted by Richie. He’s desperate to help, but his attempts are sometimes misguided.

• Ebraheim. Somali refugee, a line cook at the sandwich shop. Working on his English. Sweet, but behind the times. He starts culinary school with Tina, but quits going. He struggles to adjust to the changes Carmy makes and finally takes over the sandwich window... but even that's overwhelming.
  

One circle past the restaurant workers are these compelling and difficult individuals.

• Uncle Jimmy. Carmy's dad's best friend. Friendly but scary, perhaps with mob ties. Always dropping in unannounced. Loaned Mikey the money to start the sandwich shop. Loans Carmy a lot more money to move up. Intriguing, but not a guy you want to get crossways with. 

• Claire. Grew up with Carmy and Fak. Carmy's childhood sweetheart. Now a smart ER nurse. She finds Carmy enchanting and tries to rekindle the flame. He does everything he can to stop her, then really really wishes he hadn't been so good at it.

• Andrea. Head chef at the big-night-out restaurant where Richie interns. She sees talent in him most have missed, and encourages him. When she decides to close her restaurant, it throws Carmy for a loop. 

• David. Cruel, perfection-obsessed chef, who Carmy worked under. Did everything he could to make Carmy feel like garbage. It worked. Carmy feels pressure to prove to David he’s a world class chef.
  

Watching the show, you're wound ultra-tight worrying how Carmy will survive this character minefield, which brings him boatloads of constant, painful, nerve-wracking agony. That, for a writer, is what you need. Make things difficult for your main character and your audience will be hooked.

Lots of lit sticks of dynamite will give you plenty to write about, so hand your main character heaps of opportunities for problems. 

To sharpen your writing skills with more examples from real world scripts, films and tv shows, sign up for our self-paced Screenwriting Essentials course.