In “The Bear” Season 5, Episode 7, a hype guest moment turns out to be Tom Skilling—Chicago’s longtime WGN chief meteorologist—whose local legend status meets the show’s Michelin-star pressure.
The moment Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) spots him, Episode 7 stops being just another high-stakes kitchen sprint. Skilling has barely arrived when Richie clocks him immediately—and then delivers the news to the rest of the kitchen himself.
That’s when the excitement lands. Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) bursts out, “I love him,” right amid the buzz around the man chefs keep calling “Star Man,” the one they believe can help them earn the Michelin star they’ve been chasing.
If you’re not from Chicago, the name might not ring a bell at first. Skilling isn’t the kind of guest who shows up like an A-list headline grab—he’s a familiar face from Chicago TV. specifically WGN. Or rather, he was: Tom Skilling is a beloved weatherman whose Chicago career spanned 1978 to 2024, when he retired.
For decades, he served as WGN’s chief meteorologist and became the weather authority in a way locals don’t easily forget. The show leans into that kind of reverence, treating him like a major personality in the moment—even if the rest of the country might only be meeting him for the first time.
Edebiri, who is from Boston, wasn’t immediately familiar with Skilling’s hometown legend. But she says she didn’t stay in the dark for long. “I’ve become familiar because of the cast and crew,” she told TheWrap. “And so, I think I sort of — I studied. I studied, and I embodied. But he was also very sweet, and so lovely.”.
Jeremy Allen White also spoke to the feel of the encounter. calling Skilling “a wonderful presence.” Edebiri added. “It was so sweet. ” and returned to that hometown-legend connection. “And I’m from Boston. so I feel like. you know. obviously it’s like everybody has their own local legend. So it was cool to meet like a different — someone else’s local, but another like local legend. He was really lovely.”.
Between the kitchen’s urgent need for a Michelin star and the sudden burst of real Chicago warmth around Skilling. Episode 7 turns a guest appearance into something stranger and more human: the kind of celebrity recognition you only get when the person being celebrated has spent a lifetime showing up for the same community.
“The Bear” Season 5 is now streaming on Hulu.
The Bear Season 5 Episode 7 Tom Skilling WGN Chicago weatherman Ayo Edebiri Ebon Moss-Bachrach Jeremy Allen White Star Man Michelin star Hulu