Beef was one of the big Netflix shows of 2023, generating all the buzz when it dropped on the streamer last April. I treated Beef like I treat most over-hyped shows (that aren’t explicitly genre), I avoided it. 

Having now watched all ten episodes, I don’t regret my decision. Beef is symptomatic of so much streaming TV—competent with flashes of brilliance. I loved the opening episode, found my attention drfiting around the middle, but was impressed with the final three episodes—especially the finale. At six episodes, it would have been a masterpiece. At ten episodes, it feels like a wasted opportunity.

The show centres on Danny Cho (Steven Yuen), a hapless contractor who gets into a road rage incident with Amy Lau (Ali Wong), the owner of a successful business on the verge of being bought out by a chain store. The road rage incident is the first step in a feud that escalates out of control.

Beef puts America’s Southeast Asian community front and centre—Korean, Japanese and Chinese—but does so without drawing attention to it. Yes, there’s talk of Danny and Amy’s upbringing. One of the later episodes, beautiful and sad, shows how they were shaped by aloof parents, short on doling out love. In the main, though, these are two people seeking to embody the American dream. Danny falls well short. Amy achieves her lofty goals but finds it all empty and hollow. As such, what we really have is a show about late-stage capitalism (everyone’s favourite topic) and the hatred and despair fuelled by inequality and privilege.

Aside from the final, genuinely great episode, none of it is especially profound or nuanced. It’s also not as over the top as it could have been. Things escalate, but until the penultimate episode, it’s mostly contained. Steven Yuen and Ali Wong are both excellent (if I stuck around, it was entirely because of them), and a sad shout out to the wonderful Patti Yasutake (of Next Gen fame), who is suitably bitchy as Amy’s mother-in-law. This was her final role before passing away in August.

Would I recommend Beef for the three of you who haven’t watched it? No, not really. There’s better stuff out there.