There’s likely a part of us all that wonders what would happen if we indulged our pettiest desires, and Netflix’s Beef is an exploration of just that. Lee Sun Jin, who’s written on the FX comedies Dave and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, has created a dark comedy series starring The Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun and Always Be My Maybe star Ali Wong, as two people unwilling and unable to let a near-miss in a parking go. The series is a must-watch, according to critics, and the reviews are in to tell you why.
Beef is inspiring alternate takes on some of our favorite TV and movie themes. One critic calls the series “engaging feel-bad TV,” while another recognizes Danny (Steven Yeun) and Amy’s (Ali Wong) first encounter as “the opposite of a meet-cute” and “hate at first sight.” But it takes a capable duo to pull off such a dynamic in a way that will keep audiences engaged for 10 half-hour episodes, and many of the critics are sharing praise for the leading actors’ work. Let’s take a look at the reviews.
Kristen Baldwin of EW grades the series a B, and while admitting it suffers from “Netflix Bloat,” with middle episodes that tend to drag, she notes that beyond the revenge story is an exploration into generational trauma and the Asian experience in America. The critic praises Ali Wong and Steven Yeun for what they are able to achieve, saying:
Yeun and Wong are exceptional. Danny and Amy are roles that call for physical and intellectual comedy, apoplectic rage and stifled, stomach-churning frustration, abject despair and numbing emptiness. The actors integrate it all seamlessly while maintaining the aching humanity of their increasingly unlikable characters.
Roxana Hadadi of Vulture also makes note of the performances, calling Steven Yeun and Ali Wong’s characters “often hilariously mean.” Despite some repetition in how the rivals keep digging themselves deeper into resentment, Beef is rarely better than when its two stars are sneering insults at one another, the review states:
Watching Beef’s ten episodes, which premiere all at once on April 6, is like picking at a scab or pushing on the edge of a bruise — a paradoxically pleasurable sensation of anxiety and satisfaction — and Yeun and Wong’s vibrating, hostile chemistry makes for engaging feel-bad TV that critiques the very notion of inner peace.
Ross McIndoe of Slant Magazine rates Beef 3.5 stars out of 4, using a number of contradictions for the dark comedy and its ultra-petty characters, including “hilarious but gut-wrenching,” and the aforementioned description of their “opposite of a meet-cute” being “hate at first sight.” The critic says it goes deeper than that, though, and is sincere in its depiction of two people who are in immense emotional pain. Regarding the performances, he says:
Yeun and Wong excel at delivering both the sunny personas that Amy and Danny are trying to project to the world and the shadowy figures creeping out from behind them. They deliver big, slightly oversized comic performances to match the mildly absurd tone of the series but never lose touch with its underlying reality. The camera regularly pushes right in on their faces, picking out the little micro-expressions that betray the emotions that the characters are working so hard to conceal, and revealing just how close Danny and Amy are to breaking at all times. Yeun and Wong also thoroughly sell the idea of Danny and Amy as people who simply can’t stand each other. Theirs is a sort of inverted sexual chemistry where you can feel their physical revulsion in every gesture.
Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com also gives the series 3.5 out of 4 stars, calling Steven Yeun one of the best actors of his generation, and saying that Ali Wong matches his every step in the best performance of her career in their portrayals of two people who feel they’ve had to take the high road too many times in their lives. The review continues:
It feels like the general mood of everyone right now hovers between anxiety, frustration, and anger, and creator Lee Sung Jin uses that national state of being to craft a tonally daring piece of television, one that vacillates wildly from comedy to drama to thriller and back again. Anchored by a pair of the best performances you’ll see this year in anything, Beef is daring in the way it allows its protagonists to be villains while also turning them into mirrors for ourselves.
The series garners a perfect 4 out of 4 stars from USA TODAY’s Kelly Lawler (opens in new tab), who agrees with the above critic that Beef has succeeded in capturing the anxiety-ridden, anger-inducing world we live in. The review goes on:
Beef is well-written, darkly comedic and sharply edited, but by far the biggest draw is the two main actors. Yeun and Wong are so fantastic, they make every scene of the series riveting. Each disappears so completely into their character and manages to create some sympathy and likability, even as they devolve into ever more deranged acts of vengeance and bravado. The fury that Amy and Danny unleash upon each other is toxic and outrageous, but it is also relatable to an extreme.
In fact, all of the critics who rated the series on Rotten Tomatoes have similar positive takeaways. Beef currently holds a 100% Fresh critical rating from 49 contributors so far, with more to come now that the series has been released to those with a Netflix subscription. In addition to this series, you can also take a look at Netflix’s upcoming movie and TV releases, and check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what other premieres are coming soon.
