As the saying goes, revenge is a dish best served cold. However, the offbeat, comedy-thriller Beef exhibits that revenge can be raw, unhinged, and served with a side of pettiness. The ambitious Netflix-A24 joint venture has become an overnight success, scoring high approval ratings with critics and winning audiences over with a perfectly crafted series helmed by masterful performances by Ali Wong and Steven Yeun. Beef follows the pair as their lives become intertwined after a road rage incident that spirals into a brutal feud and begins to unravel both of their lives. Though the elusive finale left room for interpretation, Beef’s creator Lee Sung Jin mentioned in a recent Rolling Stone interview that he envisioned future seasons for the series.
Without giving spoilers, Beef’s finale featured an explosive showdown between Wong and Yeun’s characters — Amy and Danny, respectively — that culminated in a brief moment of reconciliation and understanding between the sparring partners before tragedy strikes Danny. By the end of episode 10, everything has been brought to light, which helps support a conclusive feel to the finale. Though the past sins and dirty deeds of Amy and Danny have been illuminated to their loved ones, what’s next for the duo remains a lingering question. This was by design, as Sung Jin wanted a proper ending that allowed the possibility to explore more within future seasons.
“I wanted it to have a conclusive feel just in case. But 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.”
Related: Exclusive: Beef Stars Joseph Lee and Young Mazino on Their Phenomenal Netflix Series
Beef Came Together Under an Unbelievable Time Crunch
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A24
Beef has quickly risen to become one of television’s most remarkable projects for 2023. Lee Sung Jin forged a gripping tale between two adversaries that all began over a petty road incident that eventually ballooned into a grisly, all-out war. Throughout the 10-episode season, Beef doesn’t shy away from oscillating between its comedic, dramatic, and bloody undertones as the stakes grow increasingly higher in Amy and Danny’s raging feud.
When speaking on the penultimate episode and the series at large with Rolling Stone, Sung Jin mentioned that many of the season’s maniacal antics could be attributed to how quickly Beef had to come together, according to the show’s timeline.
“During the writing and shooting, it all vomited out of me and everyone involved, that I don’t think I had time to pause or filter myself. The time crunch in television is insane. You just don’t have any time to get your head above water and be like, ‘Wait, what are we doing?’ There was actually a version of episode [9] that was much darker, believe it or not. To everyone’s credit, people walked me back. If you read the first outline, you’d be appalled.”
All 10 episodes of Beef are currently available for streaming exclusively through Netflix.
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