The best Netflix show in recent memory

Netflix and A24's Beef is astounding, anti-ambient TV. vox.com/culture CULTURE   Anger management is an essential life skill. But working on your communication or doing daily meditation are only two potential techniques out of many — what if, instead, you found your incandescent equal, someone with whom you could act on your wildest revenge fantasies? In his [review of the new Netflix show Beef](, Alex Abad-Santos unpacks the series’ meaty themes around class, human connection, and, of course, rage. “Hating someone can be enough to keep you alive; a powerful motivating factor to survive to see them die,” he writes. The protagonists’ fury is the high-octane fuel that propels the show through 10 thrilling episodes, demanding your entire attention. As Alex notes, part of why Beef is so compelling is its realistic depiction of an Asian American subculture brimming with its own history and conflicts. The characters are unabashedly messed up, and so tangled up in their interpersonal and ethnic resentments that they can’t help but trip and fall on their faces. And he correctly argues that this is the rare show that sticks its landing: We don’t need another season. It’s a quick, no-holds-barred binge that zooms off into the sunset at 200 mph. —[Whizy Kim](, senior reporter Beef is the best new show of 2023. It doesn’t need a second season. [Ali Wong and Steven Yeun in Beef]( Amazon Studios I partake in what’s known as ambient TV, where there’s something on while I’m folding laundry or cleaning up my living room or on my phone, texting friends or tweeting to non-friends. The less interested I am in a show, the more texts get sent, the crisper the folds are, and the cleaner my coffee table is. To get me to forget my phone, my T-shirts, and my dirty coffee table, a show has to knock me out. And right now the show doing that is Netflix and A24’s anxiety-inducing Beef. My only texts to friends were in the brief seconds between each episode. “Did you start Beef?” “I like that this is obliquely a show about hot Asians hotting hottily” “Ali Wong is doing fantastic stuff. Is this about her divorce? I think it’s about her divorce.” Beef creates commanding television by twisting the idea of a fateful encounter. Usually, when humans talk about chance meetings with other humans, we think of the positive. Like there’s a one in 8 billion chance of meeting your soulmate, or it’s some kind of lucky coincidence that a stranger may change your life for the better. People come into your life for a reason, we’re told (often by people who have seemingly come into our lives to dispense this saccharine view of the world). Beef proposes the frightening scenario in which a once-in-a-lifetime moment could result in finding your mortal enemy, and the terrifying possibility that someone we’ve never met before could change our lives for the worse. [Read the full story »](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Small acts of kindness matter more than you think Text a friend, write a thank-you note, compliment a stranger — people appreciate these gestures. [Read the full story »]( The Bud Light boycott, explained as much as is possible Bud Light sent a handful of beers to a trans influencer and all hell broke loose. [Read the full story »](   Support our work We aim to explain what we buy, why we buy it, and why it matters. Support our mission by making a gift today. [Give](   More good stuff to read today - [Why Austin Butler still sounds like Elvis, explained by his own vocal coach]( - [The climate apocalypse is also a religious crisis]( - [AI art freaks me out. So I tried to make some.]( - [What is misoprostol? Crucial questions about the other abortion drug.]( - [Kelly Link secures her crown as queen of the literary fairy tale]( - [Succession: Well, that happened](  [Learn more about RevenueStripe...](   [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( Manage your [email preferences]( or [unsubscribe](param=culture). If you value Vox’s unique explanatory journalism, support our work with a one-time or recurring [contribution](. View our [Privacy Policy]( and our [Terms of Service](. Vox Media, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Floor 12, Washington, DC 20036. Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved.