Beef (Season 1)

⭐9/10

This was the perfect show at the perfect time. It's hilarious, it's exciting, it's intense, it's smart. It really is the ultimate crowd pleaser, sure to engage pretty much anyone from the jump. 

It's about Steven Yeung and Ali Wong getting into a road rage incident which sets off the craziest beef that completely spirals out of control. You become instantly invested in who gets the upper hand, and it's funny to watch because both of these characters have some admirable traits, yet they are so deeply flawed in more significant ways. Yeung is a hardworking handyman trying to support his family, but is also a completely insufferable narcacist. Wong is a successful businesswoman trying to keep it together so she can live a simple life caring for her daughter, and yet is a deranged sociopath with massive anger issues. The characters are incredibly written, so lifelike and well-realzied by their respective actors. 

The plot is snappy and has a great sense of propulsion. Tim said it in his review and I completely agree where you start to guess where this show will land, but that guess is blown past halfway through the next episode and you will never find yourself ahead of the plot. Things escalate super quickly, and you realize just how much they are packing into 30 minute episodes. 

Getting back to the characters, I think the thing that stood out to me is how fleshed out even the side characters are. I thought Yeungs brother was a standout, an actor I disliked in Last of Us, but his performance here is awesome as this idiot Gen Z jock. I thought Wong's husband was terrific, the mother had good depth, the church characters were funny. A lot to love here. 

I guess my only point of contention is that the ending didn't quite land for me. I kept wondering how all of this would conclude, and I do think it was mostly satisfying, but I always dislike these kinds of sequences. Hard to describe without spoiling, but it kinda made me nauseous and disconnected from the very real story. Not a deal-breaker at all, but for a perfect ten, I would have needed this to stick the landing in a way I enjoyed more. Not saying it won't work for everyone, but it makes it fall just short in my opinion. 

Still, an amazing show that I was instantly hooked on, and one I would recommend to pretty much anyone.