Why ‘Beef’ Doesn’t Focus on Race: ‘These Characters Happen to Be Asian American, but There’s So Much More to Them’
variety.comRachel Seo Warning: This story contains mild spoilers for “Beef,” available to watch on Netflix now. Lee Sung Jin, the creator and showrunner of Netflix’s “Beef,” first worked with Steven Yeun and Ali Wong on the animated series “Tuca & Bertie.” But their latest collaboration sees the three reunite to craft a Netflix show along an A24 sensibility. “Beef,” which dropped on the streaming service on Apr.
6, traces the intersecting lives of Yeun’s Danny and Wong’s Amy after the two engage in a vitriolic road rage incident that sets both on a collision course to chaos. “Amy and Danny may differ in gender, class and career path, but they share a self-destructive nihilism that each seems to recognize in the other, even if they can’t articulate it,” writes Variety TV critic Alison Herman.
Rounding out the main cast are Young Mazino, who plays Danny’s younger brother Paul, and Joseph Lee, who takes on the role of George, Amy’s husband.
Ashley Park, Justin H. Min, Patti Yasutake, Mia Serafino and David Choe also star. Recently announced as a writer on Marvel’s upcoming “Thunderbolts” — which sees him reuniting with Yeun, director Jake Schreier, production designer Grace Yun and editor Harry Yoon, all of whom worked on “Beef” — Lee sat down with Variety to discuss the nuances of the characters’ dynamics in his critically acclaimed show, the nostalgia he embedded in the Korean church scenes and why he conceives of himself as a character-first writer. This show is a study in contrasts.
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