Beef (TV series)

Beef is an American comedy-drama television miniseries created by Korean-American director Lee Sung Jin for Netflix. It stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong as Danny Cho and Amy Lau, respectively; two strangers whose involvement in a road rage incident escalates into a prolonged feud. Appearing in supporting roles are Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, David Choe, and Patti Yasutake.

The ten-episode series was released on Netflix on April 6, 2023, to acclaim from critics who praised Yeun's and Wong's performances, as well as the writing and directing. At the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, it received eight wins, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series and acting wins for Yeun and Wong. At the 81st Golden Globe Awards, it won in all three of its nominated categories, including Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film.

Main

 * Steven Yeun as Danny Cho, a struggling contractor of Korean heritage who is involved in a road rage incident
 * Ali Wong as Amy Lau, a small business owner of Chinese and Vietnamese heritage and the other party in the road rage incident
 * Joseph Lee as George Nakai, a sculptor of Japanese heritage and Amy's stay-at-home husband
 * Young Mazino as Paul Cho, Danny's languishing younger brother
 * David Choe as Isaac Cho, Danny and Paul's cousin, recently released from prison
 * Patti Yasutake as Fumi Nakai, George's mother

Recurring

 * Maria Bello as Jordan Forster, the wealthy owner of a home improvement chain store
 * Ashley Park as Naomi, Jordan's sister-in-law and Amy's neighbor
 * Mia Serafino as Mia, Amy's assistant
 * Remy Holt as June, Amy and George's young daughter
 * Justin H. Min as Edwin, a praise leader in a Korean church and husband of Danny's ex-girlfriend
 * Alyssa Gihee Kim as Veronica, Danny's ex-girlfriend and Edwin's wife
 * Andie Ju as Esther, a friend of Edwin and Veronica
 * Andrew Santino as Michael, an associate of Isaac
 * Rek Lee as Bobby, another associate of Isaac

Guest

 * Hong Dao as Hanh Trinh Lau, Amy's mother, a Vietnamese immigrant
 * Kelvin Han Yee as Bruce Lau, Amy's father, a Chinese-American man raised in the Midwest
 * Ione Skye as Mysterious Woman

Production
The project, created by Korean-American director Lee Sung Jin and set to star Steven Yeun and Ali Wong was first announced in March 2021, with a bidding war happening over the series rights. Netflix would eventually win the rights. In December, Lee Isaac Chung was reported to be directing the pilot episode. In March 2022, additional castings were announced, including David Choe and Patti Yasutake, and the pilot episode would instead be directed by Japanese director Hikari. She was also confirmed to direct several additional episodes.

Filming had begun by April 2022.

Lee Sung Jin has planned the show to last three seasons: "There are a lot of ideas on my end to keep this story going. I think should we be blessed with a Season Two, there's a lot of ways for Danny and Amy to continue. I have one really big general idea that I can't really say yet, but I have three seasons mapped out in my head currently."

In February 2024, it was announced that a second season was being actively explored, with Charles Melton, Cailee Spaeny, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. In June 2024, it was reported that Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan are in negotiations to star in the second season.

Release
Beef premiered at the 2023 SXSW Festival on March 18, 2023. It premiered on Netflix on April 6, 2023.

Critical response
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 86 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave Beef 3.5 out of 4 stars. In his review of the show, he noted that the general mood of the country, which is characterized by anxiety, frustration, and anger, was effectively used to create a "tonally daring" show that vacillates between comedy, drama, and thriller. Tallerico praised the show for its well-structured plotting and lauded the performances of Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, calling them the best he has seen that year, and applauds their ability to make their characters relatable and grounded. However, Tallerico also noted that the show's penultimate episode became "a little hard-to-swallow" and took away some significant decisions from the characters, which detracted from the thematically rich narrative.

In her review for Variety, Alison Herman praised Beef for the excellent chemistry between Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, as well as for their performances. She noted that the show starts grounded in emotional concerns but spirals ever further out into surrealism and caricatures, sometimes distracting from the show's "core insights". In a review for NPR, Linda Holmes explained that the show is interested in big questions about meaning and purpose in life and "tackles them with inventiveness and deep empathy". She praised the show's stunning, surprising, and empathetic portrayal of the muddled humanity of its very messy characters and its ability to blend humor with deep existential questions. Herman also praised the performances, especially Steven Yeun's, and the show's production design.

Ben Travers of IndieWire gave the series a grade of B and stated that it does a fine job balancing the protagonists' practical intelligence and impractical passions. He added that the series is designed to evoke empathy for each combatant while exploring their shared humanity and collective hardships, and it delves into their demons while drawing parallels between the two leads. He noted that despite some of the plot twists feeling forced, Wong and Yeun "shine throughout". Ellen E. Jones of The Guardian gave the show 4 out of 5 stars and described it as a "dark, existential thriller" and a "delicacy worth savouring". She noted that the show's "extremely funny" dialogue and chaos highlighted the quality of its leads.

In his review for The New York Times, television critic James Poniewozik described Beef as a "thrilling dark comedy" that "delves into the intricacies of anger via a road-rage feud between two drivers who share more in common than meets the eye". He praised the show's attention to the motivations that led to the conflict and the personal and cultural specificity of its study of anger. Poniewozik also noted that the show's Asian cast was both a casual fact of the setting and integral to its themes. In a review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper described Beef as "bold, darkly funny, emotionally bruising, provocative and wicked-smart social satire". He commended the ensemble cast for their exceptional performances, particularly Ali Wong and Steven Yeun. Comparing the show to "Falling Down and Changing Lanes with a touch of The White Lotus", Roeper claimed that it was the best series he had seen all year.