Spoiler warning: The Bear, Season 3, Episode 6.
Before filming “Napkins,” Ayo Edebiri and Liza Colón-Zayas talked about what Tina would cook at home and what she would hang on her walls. Edebiri was preparing to direct her first episode of The Bear, and the two actors were working out parts of Tina’s life that viewers had never seen.
The episode follows Tina after she loses a job she has held for 15 years. She needs work, and her search eventually takes her to the Original Beef, where she meets Mikey, played by Jon Bernthal. Colón-Zayas had already spent two seasons playing Tina before learning the details of how she got there.
Figuring out Tina’s home life
Colón-Zayas had imagined Tina as a single mother. “Napkins” gave her a husband and a supportive family, which surprised the actor when she learned more about the character. David Zayas, her real-life husband, plays Tina’s husband in the episode.
In a July 2024 interview, Colón-Zayas said working with him felt familiar after years of acting together. Preparing with Edebiri also meant discussing ordinary household details, including the food in Tina’s slow cooker and the decorations around her home.
Their relationship on set was already established. In an August 2024 interview, Colón-Zayas described “years of bonding and trust and work” with Edebiri. She said their preparation made filming feel natural, with Edebiri calmly watching the performances and checking what was happening around her.
Learning how to work with the crew
Edebiri had prepared for directing while the show was filming “Fishes” in Season 2. Sydney does not appear in that episode, so she used the opportunity to visit the set and meet the different departments. She later explained that she felt comfortable talking to actors and producers but needed more experience working with the crew.
For “Napkins,” she and cinematographer Drew Daniels planned close shots of Colón-Zayas’s face to capture small changes in her expression. Edebiri also used the first season as a visual reference for the scenes inside the Beef, including its tight framing and sudden zooms.
Speaking about the episode in June 2025, Edebiri said her conversations with Colón-Zayas focused on keeping Tina consistent with the woman she had been playing while showing her life before the restaurant. The job search, her marriage and her first meeting with Mikey were all parts of that earlier life the two could finally put on screen.
