Critical response Season 1 The first season of
Beef received universal critical acclaim.
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 86 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Brian Tallerico of
RogerEbert.com gave
Beef 3.5 out of 4 stars. In his review of the show, he noted that the general mood of the country, which is characterized by anxiety, frustration, and anger, was effectively used to create a "tonally daring" show that vacillates between comedy, drama, and thriller. Tallerico praised the show for its well-structured plotting and lauded the performances of Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, calling them the best he had seen that year, and applauding their ability to make their characters relatable and grounded. However, Tallerico also noted that the show's penultimate episode became "a little hard-to-swallow" and took away some significant decisions from the characters, which detracted from the thematically rich narrative. In her review for
Variety, Alison Herman praised
Beef for the excellent chemistry between Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, as well as for their performances. She noted that the show starts grounded in emotional concerns but spirals ever further out into surrealism and caricatures, sometimes distracting from the show's "core insights". In a review for
NPR,
Linda Holmes explained that the show is interested in big questions about meaning and purpose in life and "tackles them with inventiveness and deep empathy". She praised the show's stunning, surprising, and empathetic portrayal of the muddled humanity of its very messy characters and its ability to blend humor with deep existential questions. Holmes also praised the performances, especially Steven Yeun's, and the show's production design. Ben Travers of
IndieWire gave the series a grade of B and stated that it does a fine job balancing the protagonists' practical intelligence and impractical passions. He added that the series is designed to evoke empathy for each combatant while exploring their shared humanity and collective hardships, and it delves into their demons while drawing parallels between the two leads. He noted that despite some of the plot twists feeling forced, Wong and Yeun "shine throughout". Ellen E. Jones of
The Guardian gave the show 4 out of 5 stars and described it as a "dark, existential thriller" and a "delicacy worth savouring". She noted that the show's "extremely funny" dialogue and chaos highlighted the quality of its leads. In his review for
The New York Times, television critic
James Poniewozik described
Beef as a "thrilling dark comedy" that "delves into the intricacies of anger via a road-rage feud between two drivers who share more in common than meets the eye". He praised the show's attention to the motivations that led to the conflict and the personal and cultural specificity of its study of anger. Poniewozik also noted that the show's Asian cast was both a casual fact of the setting and integral to its themes. In a review for the
Chicago Sun-Times,
Richard Roeper described
Beef as "bold, darkly funny, emotionally bruising, provocative and wicked-smart social satire". He commended the ensemble cast for their exceptional performances, particularly Ali Wong and Steven Yeun. Comparing the show to "
Falling Down and
Changing Lanes with a touch of
The White Lotus", Roeper claimed that it was the best series he had seen all year.
Season 2 The second season has an 87% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 68 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus states, "
Beef pairs its second season with winning performers and a crackling sense of ingenuity in a saga that Lee Sung Jin perfectly anchors through his mastery of class satire and the unexpected modes of human nature." On Metacritic, the second season received a score of 77 out of 100 based on 32 reviews, signifying "generally favorable" reviews.
Viewership The second season debuted at the number 10 spot on the Netflix Top 10 the week it was released, pulling in 2.4 million views, a drop-off of approximately 58% between the openings of the two seasons.
Accolades == Notes ==