Created by: Lee Sung Jin
Genre: Comedy. Drama
Cast: Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Young Mazino, Joseph Lee, David Choe
Duration: 10 episodes, 30-39 minutes
Now streaming on Netflix
IIf I were to sum up Beef in one sentence, it would be, “Road rage escalates into most unlikely outcome”. This is not an exaggeration. Danny (Yeun) almost hits Amy (Wong) in the parking space of a store. She is in the middle of making a sale to an important client, and Danny is in the pits because he is struggling to get clients for his contracting business. So they are both in the middle of their own stuff. That said, the level of anger that follows is surprising. That scene ends with Amy driving away, and Danny noting her number plate –revenge on his mind. And boy, does he plot his revenge! Suffice to say that this soon escalates in dark tit-for-tat.
If you saw Ali Wong’s name and figured it is a comedy, you are not wrong. The short summary I have given does not scream comedy but Beef is a comedy, albeit of the dark kind. It is a stange story that grips you, has you laughing then feeling guilty for laughing at something that should not be funny if you think about it. In the next minute, you are tense and annoyed then back to laughing again, with a mix of sadness. It is one of those series you have to watch for yourself to understand what I mean.
Yeun and Wong play off each other’s characters so well that you cannot help understanding the reasons behind their actions. Wong clearly belongs on and off the stand-up stage as she makes us feel how overwhelming her character’s life is. One of the reasons this series has been a hit on the streamer is because it is easy to understand the characters. People go through stuff in private and then blow off steam by causing pain to others. We have seen this. Beef seems like a cautionary tale of what can happen if this goes on. Serious, I know. But that is where the comedy comes in.
–Grace Kenganzi
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