Beef (2023)

I admittedly came very late to Beef. Everyone has seen it already but I've at least gotten to it before the strike-delayed Emmys. And it's a super quick watch, a ten-episode miniseries at about 30 minutes each. It's an easily digestible format you could get through in a day. It's a compact beginning-middle-end. 

Beef is both dark comedy and thrilling drama. It strikes a balance. Surprisingly, Ali Wong, who I really only know as a stand up comic nails the dramatic side of the role too. Steven Yeun (who sings adequately and plays guitar at a Korean church) plays her rival in a road rage revenge that spirals out of control. The escalations are so extreme and petty you can't help but laugh or gasp in shocked silence. They are two troubled souls entwined. In another life, or maybe simply by talking to each other, they could be kindred spirits. But they enrage each other so much, they end up sabotaging themselves every time they come close to achieving success or happiness. Broken people hurt people and need people.

The supporting cast is fantastic too. While the show features a plethora of Asian American characters, the show isn't really about being Asian. It even features culturally specific notes while not focusing on them as plot point, with the one exception of the Korean church. OK maybe also about Asians being bad at driving. But it's kind of refreshing to see Asians being temperamental, not just passive. Western therapy doesn't work on Eastern minds lol