Beef felt like a bolt of lightning when it premiered in 2023. A Netflix and A24 co-production created by Lee Sung Jin, it aimed its sharp, jagged social satire at the heart of the Asian diaspora, and produced a singular piece of television. It was smart, it was withering, and it had something deep and meaningful to say.
With its second season, Beef transforms into an anthology series and expands its horizons, to its detriment. And while a star-studded cast that includes Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, and Parasite star Song Kang-ho gives the series the patina of prestige, everything that made the first season of Beef feel like such a lightning in a bottle is lost in pursuit of creating a buzzier White Lotus. As a result, Beef Season 2 feels like an undercooked version of the “eat the rich” social satires that its first season so effortlessly transcended.
