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Beef

Beef

Every couple meets their match.

2023–Ongoing2 seasons18 episodes~30 min/epTV-MAMidcredits score: 92nd percentile of all shows

Minor conflicts spiral into consuming feuds between individuals, exposing pride, resentment, and hidden pain.

Your rating, lists and review

Where to watch

Where can I watch Beef?

As of October 24, 2026, MovieCove lists Beef streaming on Netflix.

Subscription

Highlights

What stands out about Beef?

Beef earns 6 badges, led by Cultural touchstone and Top 10% of shows.

  • Rank
  • Reception
  • Craft and mood

Reception

Is Beef worth watching?

Beef's Midcredits score is the 92nd percentile of all shows, from 613K ratings across 6 sources. 89% liked it (rated it 7 or higher out of 10).

Midcredits score

How well it was received

92nd percentile

Better received than 92% of shows

91st percentile among Comedy93rd percentile among 2020s
Acclaim (how much people like it)88th
Approval (how many liked it)91st

Acclaim

Crowd Pleaser: Rating-distribution shape vs the catalog

How much people like it

80 /100

88th percentile of all shows

89th percentile among Comedy90th percentile among 2020s

Critics 82 · Audience 80

Critics and audiences broadly agree.

Rating distribution

Most people land high, with a thin tail of low scores from those it didn't reach.

Approval

How many liked it

89% liked it

91st percentile of all shows

90th percentile among Comedy93rd percentile among 2020s
89% rated it 7–1011% rated it 1–6

Critics 93% · Audience 76%

On Rotten Tomatoes, a bigger share of critics approved than audiences.

Reach

How many have seen it

99th percentile

612K ratings across platforms

98th percentile among Comedy99th percentile among 2020s
TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 18% in 30 days

What reviewers say

Common ground

Both fans and detractors acknowledge the show features strong acting and a chaotic, escalating conflict that stems from a minor provocation.

Fans praised

  • Lead performances by Steven Yeun and Ali Wong are exceptional
  • Raw, honest exploration of anger, trauma, and the Asian American experience
  • Unpredictable, gripping escalation from a simple road rage incident

Detractors panned

  • Season 2 loses focus and feels disjointed from the original premise
  • Plot becomes increasingly implausible and over-the-top
  • Many characters are unlikeable and hard to care about

What stands out

ActingDivisive85

Yeun and Wong deliver award-worthy performances

Sound and music82

Soundtrack adds emotional weight and nostalgia

OriginalityDivisive80

Fresh premise but season 2 feels derivative of White Lotus

Emotional impactDivisive75

Powerful but not universally felt

CharactersDivisive72

Complex, flawed, but division over relatability

DialogueDivisive70

Sharp, witty, but occasionally forced

Plot and storyDivisive65

Escalating chaos, but some find it implausible

EndingDivisive50

Divisive finale, rushed or unsatisfying for many

Preferred by

Critics vs users

Preferred by Critics

Critics scored it 13 points higher than users.

No notable difference between the other groups: each pair ranks it within 10 percentile points.

  • Women vs men 8 points apart
  • Under-30s vs over-30s 2 points apart
  • US vs non-US 1 point apart

Episodes

2 seasons

Season 2 · 2026 · 8 episodes · 7.7 average across 8 rated episodes

  • S2E1

    All the Things We're Never Going to Have

    Apr 16, 202643 minTMDB rating 7.9
  • S2E2

    A New Starting Point for Further Desires

    Apr 16, 202649 minTMDB rating 8.2Season best
  • S2E3

    The Increasing Flimsiness of Any Certainties About the Future

    Apr 16, 202650 minTMDB rating 8.0
  • S2E4

    Oh, the Comfort, the Inexpressible Comfort

    Apr 16, 202634 minTMDB rating 7.8
  • S2E5

    I Am Killing My Flesh Without It

    Apr 16, 202632 minTMDB rating 7.5
  • S2E6

    Those Blue Remembered Hills

    Apr 16, 202652 minTMDB rating 7.6
  • S2E7

    The Hour of Separation

    Apr 16, 202642 minTMDB rating 7.8
  • S2E8

    It Will Stay This Way and You Will Obey

    Apr 16, 202655 minTMDB rating 7.1Finale

Watch experience

What is Beef like to watch?

Conclusions only — categories and positions, no plot detail.

Earnest, dark and intense — an even-paced watch that leaves you thinking.

ToneFeelDemandexact position · filled zone: the category

What it asks of you

What it feels like

Moods
TenseMelancholicAbsurd
Heaviest: late
Dark humor
Register
Sardonic · under 1% of shows: Mocking with a bitter edge.Bleak · 3% of shows
Told as
Three-act: Setup, confrontation, resolution — the default Hollywood shape.SerializedNew arc each season
ToneThe show treats its characters' misery with earnest seriousness while mining dark, uncomfortable comedy from how absurdly their feuds escalate.
The rideThe series builds tension through escalating conflict, with heavy emotional and violent consequences accumulating toward later episodes.
StructureEach season unspools its central feud in a largely chronological arc, with the characters' backstories woven in as the conflict escalates.
Episode formatThe series follows a continuous story across episodes, with each episode advancing the escalating feud and its consequences.
Season formatEach season centers on a different central conflict and largely new cast, though connected by thematic continuity and the anthology format.

How it leaves you

what you carry away
Thought-provokingUnsettling
Why it leaves you this wayIt stays with you as a meditation on the damage of pent-up rage and the fragile possibility of connection.
How it ends · evidence
Bittersweet endingTwist

Story archetype

where it sits among all shows
Monster — 18% of shows. A threat menaces the hero's world and must be defeated.Rags — 3% of shows. A rise from lowliness to fortune, status, or recognition.Quest — 6% of shows. A journey toward a defined objective, with companions and obstacles.Voyage — 2% of shows. Into a strange world and back again, changed.Comedy — 12% of shows. Confusion and cross-purposes resolved into harmony.Tragedy — 4% of shows. A flaw or fixation drives the protagonist to ruin.Rebirth — 7% of shows. A stalled or darkened life reopened and renewed.Mystery — 8% of shows. A question drives the story — who did it, what happened, what is real — until it is answered.No archetype — 40% of showsPredator — 7% of shows. A creature or killer hunts the protagonists (Jaws, Alien).Tyrant — 3% of shows. A human villain holds power over the hero's world (Die Hard).Invasion — 2% of shows. An external force attacks the home or world (Independence Day).Oppressive state — 3% of shows. A government, its agencies or a secret faction inside them is the monster (V for Vendetta).Corporate villainy — 1% of shows. A company or its bosses are the monster (Erin Brockovich).Institutional injustice — 1% of shows. A court, prison, police force, school or church is itself the enemy (Spotlight).Class system — under 1% of shows. The gap between rich and poor, or a rigid hierarchy, is the monster (Parasite).Technology turns — under 1% of shows. Technology people rely on becomes the threat (The Terminator).Inner demon — 1% of shows. The monster is within — addiction, illness, a dark double.Underdog triumph — 2% of shows. Rise through competition or contest (Rocky).Social ascent — 1% of shows. A climb in class or status (Pretty Woman).Fame and fortune — under 1% of shows. An artistic or showbiz rise (A Star Is Born).Rise and fall — under 1% of shows. Wealth or power gained, self lost (Scarface).Hidden worth revealed — under 1% of shows. The protagonist's true value finally recognized.Treasure hunt — 1% of shows. Retrieve an object of value (Raiders of the Lost Ark).Rescue — 2% of shows. Retrieve or save a person (Saving Private Ryan).Mission — 4% of shows. Accomplish or destroy a defined objective (Mission: Impossible).Journey home — under 1% of shows. The goal is getting back (Finding Nemo).Pilgrimage — under 1% of shows. The journey itself transforms; the destination is symbolic.Portal fantasy — under 1% of shows. Transported into another world (The Wizard of Oz).Fish out of water — 1% of shows. Displaced into an unfamiliar social world (Elf).Survival ordeal — under 1% of shows. Trapped in a hostile environment, fighting back (Cast Away).Time displacement — under 1% of shows. Unstuck in time (Back to the Future).Descent — under 1% of shows. A night-journey into an underworld or subculture (After Hours).Romantic comedy — 2% of shows. Lovers kept apart by confusion, united at last.Comedy of errors — 3% of shows. Mistaken identity or misunderstanding drives the plot.Farce — 2% of shows. Escalating absurd chaos and coincidence (The Hangover).Buddy comedy — 1% of shows. A mismatched pair forced together (Rush Hour).Comedy of manners — 2% of shows. Social codes and class satirized (Clueless).Hubris — 1% of shows. Pride or ambition invites the fall (There Will Be Blood).Obsession — under 1% of shows. A fixation consumes the protagonist (Black Swan).Corruption arc — 1% of shows. Step-by-step moral decay (The Godfather).Doomed love — 1% of shows. Love destroyed by circumstance (Brokeback Mountain).Crushed by fate — 1% of shows. Destroyed by forces beyond the protagonist's control.Redemption — 1% of shows. Moral reawakening of a hardened soul (A Christmas Carol).Healing — 3% of shows. Recovery from grief or trauma (Good Will Hunting).Liberation — 2% of shows. Breaking free of a confining life (Room).Second chance — 1% of shows. A stagnant life re-opened to love or purpose (Groundhog Day).Puzzle — 1% of shows. A clue-by-clue puzzle you can try to solve before the reveal (Knives Out, Clue).Investigation — 6% of shows. A long pursuit of the truth that may never be fully solved (Zodiac, Memories of Murder).Enigma — 1% of shows. The mystery is what is real, or what is actually happening (Mulholland Drive).Tragedy
Every story archetype, clockwise from the top
  • Monster 18%: Predator 7% · Tyrant 3% · Invasion 2% · Oppressive state 3% · Corporate villainy 1% · Institutional injustice 1% · Class system under 1% · Technology turns under 1% · Inner demon 1%
  • Rags 3%: Underdog triumph 2% · Social ascent 1% · Fame and fortune under 1% · Rise and fall under 1% · Hidden worth revealed under 1%
  • Quest 6%: Treasure hunt 1% · Rescue 2% · Mission 4% · Journey home under 1% · Pilgrimage under 1%
  • Voyage 2%: Portal fantasy under 1% · Fish out of water 1% · Survival ordeal under 1% · Time displacement under 1% · Descent under 1%
  • Comedy 12%: Romantic comedy 2% · Comedy of errors 3% · Farce 2% · Buddy comedy 1% · Comedy of manners 2%
  • Tragedy 4% (this title): Hubris 1% · Obsession under 1% (this title) · Corruption arc 1% · Doomed love 1% · Crushed by fate 1%
  • Rebirth 7%: Redemption 1% · Healing 3% · Liberation 2% · Second chance 1%
  • Mystery 8%: Puzzle 1% · Investigation 6% · Enigma 1%
  • No archetype 40%

Tragedy: A flaw or fixation drives the protagonist to ruin. · Obsession: A fixation consumes the protagonist (Black Swan).

4% of shows fit this archetype

A loose fit — the map only half-holds this one.

Why this archetypeSeason 1's arc is two ordinary people whose minor grievance becomes an all-consuming mutual feud that unravels their lives, and Season 2 recasts the same destructive spiral with new characters, so the series as a whole leans tragedy.

What it's about

7 groups · 53 themes
Bonds — 31% of showsSelf — 27% of showsPower — 7% of showsMorality — 11% of showsSurvival — 9% of showsSociety — 10% of showsIdeas — 5% of showsRomantic love — 10% of showsMarriage — 2% of showsFamily bonds — 22% of showsParenthood — 1% of showsFriendship — 18% of showsLoyalty — 7% of showsIdentity — 20% of showsComing of age — 9% of showsAging — under 1% of showsSelf-worth — 7% of showsAmbition — 14% of showsPurpose — 16% of showsMemory — 3% of showsObsession — 2% of shows. A fixation consumes the protagonist (Black Swan).Power — 5% of showsCorruption — 3% of showsGreed — 2% of showsClass — 4% of showsOppression — 2% of showsFreedom — 4% of showsJustice — 14% of showsDuty — 2% of showsRevenge — 1% of showsGuilt — 1% of showsRedemption — 3% of shows. Moral reawakening of a hardened soul (A Christmas Carol).Forgiveness — under 1% of showsSacrifice — 2% of showsBetrayal — 3% of showsDeception — 6% of showsSurvival — 12% of showsWar — 1% of showsViolence — 2% of showsMortality — 2% of showsGrief — 4% of showsTrauma — 5% of showsMental illness — under 1% of showsAddiction — under 1% of showsIllness and disability — under 1% of showsCommunity — 25% of shows. Consequences reach a town, institution or group.Isolation — 3% of showsPrejudice — 2% of showsDisplacement — 1% of showsFaith — 1% of showsTradition vs change — 3% of showsFame — 5% of showsLegacy — 3% of showsFate — 1% of showsFree will — under 1% of showsTruth — 6% of showsHope — 4% of showsNature — 3% of showsArt — 2% of showsTechnology — 1% of showsSelfIdentitySelf
Every theme, clockwise from the top
  • Bonds 31%: Romantic love 10% · Marriage 2% · Family bonds 22% · Parenthood 1% · Friendship 18% · Loyalty 7%
  • Self 27% (this title): Identity 20% (this title) · Coming of age 9% · Aging under 1% · Self-worth 7% · Ambition 14% (this title) · Purpose 16% · Memory 3% · Obsession 2%
  • Power 7%: Power 5% · Corruption 3% · Greed 2% · Class 4% · Oppression 2% · Freedom 4%
  • Morality 11%: Justice 14% · Duty 2% · Revenge 1% · Guilt 1% · Redemption 3% · Forgiveness under 1% · Sacrifice 2% · Betrayal 3% · Deception 6%
  • Survival 9%: Survival 12% · War 1% · Violence 2% · Mortality 2% · Grief 4% (this title) · Trauma 5% · Mental illness under 1% · Addiction under 1% · Illness and disability under 1%
  • Society 10%: Community 25% · Isolation 3% · Prejudice 2% · Displacement 1% · Faith 1% · Tradition vs change 3% · Fame 5% · Legacy 3%
  • Ideas 5%: Fate 1% · Free will under 1% · Truth 6% · Hope 4% · Nature 3% · Art 2% · Technology 1%

Self

IdentityGrief · 4% of showsAmbition · 14% of shows
Interrogates its theme: Questions its theme without settling the answer.Intimate stakes: Consequences reach a person or a household.Dual lead
How it treats its themeThe series explores how hidden pain and unmet expectations shape who people become, with characters confronting the gap between their outward success and inner despair.
StanceThe series questions its characters' identities and choices without celebrating or condemning them, laying bare the rawness of human failure.

The world

ContemporaryUrbanSuburbanDomesticRealistic
ElectronicExperimentalSupportive music · hybrid
SettingLos Angeles, present day, across suburban homes and small businesses
MusicLikely a mix of original score and licensed tracks to underscore tension and tone.

Content guide

Is Beef okay for kids?

TV-MA

Beef is rated TV-MA. As of August 18, 2026, Midcredits content scores put its violence at moderate (58/100), sexual content at intense (65/100), language at severe (83/100), drug and alcohol content at mild (35/100) and frightening material at moderate (56/100). Overall it is heavier than 52% of TV-MA shows.

Ratings in 28 other countries
  • UK18
  • Canada18+
  • AustraliaMA 15+
  • Germany16
  • France16
  • Ireland18
  • South Korea19
  • Brazil16
  • ArgentinaSAM 16
  • Austria16
  • Czechia18+
  • FinlandK16
  • Greece16
  • Hungary16
  • IDD
  • IndiaA
  • MexicoC
  • MY18
  • Netherlands16
  • Poland16
  • Portugal16
  • ROAP
  • Russia16+
  • SingaporeM18
  • Spain16
  • Switzerland16
  • Türkiye18+
  • UA16+
Overall
Intense · all five categories
Heavier than 74% of all showsHeavier than 52% of TV-MA shows
Violence & Gore
Moderate
typical for a TV-MA show
heavier than 39%
Sex & Nudity
Intense · audience split: No severity level holds a majority of voters
typical for a TV-MA show
heavier than 71%
Profanity
Severe
heavy for a TV-MA show
heavier than 79%
Alcohol & Drugs
Mild
light for a TV-MA show
heavier than 16%
Frightening / Intense
Moderate · audience split: No severity level holds a majority of voters
typical for a TV-MA show
heavier than 45%

Point along a line to see a well-known title at that level.

The reason to think twice is language and sexual content. Everything else sits at or below what TV-MA shows usually carry.

Source: Midcredits content scores, 0 (none) to 100 (severe) per category, with each standing ranked against other shows that have them.

What content warnings does Beef have?

MovieCove's classifier found 6 depicted content warnings in Beef: Sexual harassment or grooming (severe), Sexual violence (severe), Animal cruelty (moderate), Gun violence (moderate), Medical procedures (mild), plus 1 withheld here because it would spoil the plot. 3 more are mentioned only, in dialogue or backstory: Addiction or relapse, Child abuse, Suicide. Each is backed by a verbatim quote from the parents' guide notes; a missing warning is not a guarantee of absence.

SevereSexual harassment or groomingSexual violence
ModerateAnimal crueltyGun violence
MildMedical procedures
MentionedAddiction or relapseChild abuseSuicide

Mentioned: referenced in dialogue or backstory, not shown in the story’s present.

Cast and crew

Who is in Beef?

Cast

3 of the cast already had the standing of a top-10% working actor.

Steven Yeun
as Danny Cho
Established: A standing when this show came out that a top-10% working actor has today.Top draw: One of the 3 biggest draws in this cast: billing here weighted by career star power.
Ali Wong
as Amy Lau
Joseph Lee
as George Nakai
Newcomer: A standing when this show came out that sits in the bottom quarter of working actors today.
Young Mazino
as Paul Cho
Newcomer: A standing when this show came out that sits in the bottom quarter of working actors today.
Remy Holt
as June
Newcomer: A standing when this show came out that sits in the bottom quarter of working actors today.
Oscar Isaac
as Joshua Martín
Established: A standing when this show came out that a top-10% working actor has today.Top draw: One of the 3 biggest draws in this cast: billing here weighted by career star power.
Carey Mulligan
as Lindsay Crane-Martín
Career best: Their highest-reaching show role by billing, audience size and rating.Top draw: One of the 3 biggest draws in this cast: billing here weighted by career star power.
Cailee Spaeny
as Ashley Miller
Career best: Their highest-reaching show role by billing, audience size and rating.
Charles Melton
as Austin Davis
Rising: A short career with a standing when this show came out above the median working actor today.
David Choe
as Isaac Cho
Screen debut: No prior film or television role.

More like this

What are shows like Beef?

TMDB's suggestions for shows like Beef include Why Women Kill (2019), You're the Worst (2014) and Togetherness (2015).

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What other shows share a tag with Beef?

347 other shows share the rarest tag below, kind of show: prestige drama. Each tag opens Browse with the shows that share it.