Who’s excited for ‘BEEF’ season 2?

YouTube comments can be brutal, just ask these two fighters on opposing sides of a hypothetical “Beef” season 2 announcement video.

@redmeatreverend (James Johnston): “Beef” was a captivating watch from start to finish. What begins with such a simple premise — road rage taken too far — evolves into such a complex comedy-drama. Steven Yeun (“Nope”) and Ali Wong (“Paper Girls”) have so much chemistry together, and bring so much range to their respective performances. The season had an ending that felt quite conclusive for their story, and it was bittersweet, but I was fully expecting for the series to end with one season. After hearing news that a second season is in the works, I’m practically shaking with anticipation! I think a new cast of characters is a great choice, and after reading interviews from the showrunner, it seems like Lee Sung Jin (“Tuca & Bertie”) always intended for the series to last longer, and an anthology series would be the logical option for moving forward. Jake Gyllenhaal (“Road House”) and Anne Hathaway (“The Idea of You”) are big names, and I’m excited to see the next season! I have hope that the show will continue to balance drama and levity as well as the first season did, and am interested to see an expansion on the theme of relationship conflicts — something that was touched upon in the first season between Amy (Wong) and George (Joseph Lee, “Searching”). Get hype for season 2!

@buffyssteak (Mina Tobya): You’ve gotta be kidding me. I mean, I liked season one as much as the next guy, but this is just ridiculous. The story felt conclusive, I’ll give you that, but it’s exactly why there shouldn’t be a second season. To dull the explosive ending with an inevitably less satisfying attempt to recapture the magic of Amy and Danny’s beef would be a huge mistake. It’s the TV equivalent of turning one successful movie into a franchise. The first “Fast and the Furious” movie was great, but did we really need a dozen more? That’s exactly what this is poised to become: dragging out the names of successful original ideas to the point that they lose all the originality they ever had to begin with, until they become the exact tropes that they set out to subvert. This is yet another Hollywood cash grab I just can’t get behind, especially from Netflix. They can cancel their successful continuous series — the ones they set out to tell over seasons-long arcs — after just one season, but they can’t find it in their coffers hearts to not tell a rehashed version of the season they intended to be insular? I don’t know what’s going on over there, but they need to get their priorities straight before they lose the last drops of their credibility. If you’re willing to stick with them through this, you must be seriously hard-pressed for something to watch and definitely a level seven susceptible to corporate bullshit.

@redmeatreverend: Screw off. Netflix has had some fantastic shows, and your condescending “corporations only make slop” attitude discredits those shows and all the work creators put into them. I can’t get behind the argument that this is solely a cash grab. The show came from a passionate director with a clear goal in mind. The show even faced production difficulties because of COVID-19, but that didn’t stop Lee and the cast from bringing the project together with serious quality. For certain episodic shows, I could see constant production and time running the show into the ground. “Beef,” though, takes a serial approach, telling a story with intention. If we were talking about an eleventh installment like Fast and Furious, maybe I’d be less enthusiastic, but this is only season 2, so tone it down a bit. “Beef” isn’t just under Netflix either; A24 has produced some real gold, and I have faith in this show. Anyone who can’t see that has some seriously bad taste. Maybe a lower-quality show is more your speed?

@buffyssteak: A show like the second season of “Beef”? It’ll undoubtedly favor quantity over quality, even if it’s a small decline. I have hope for it, too, just not enough to think that it’s a good idea. The hope I have is more like the small inkling that A24 will overpower Netflix in the decision-making, because, let’s be real, that’s usually where the trouble starts. And it’s not like A24 is infallible, they’ve had some major flops recently which doesn’t bode well for this project’s continuation. And, if it is commercially successful, do you really think they’ll stop at two? It won’t be long before Lee has half of the biggest names in acting jumping to star in one of his installments, like an eerily angry Marvel Cinematic Universe to take over hosting Jury Duty for Actors. They’ve already got Anne Hathaway, and after the crimes she committed against humanity with “The Idea of You,” it’s best we stop this train before it veers off the track.

@redmeatreverend: I think “Beef” is entirely on the right track. I will concede that Anne Hathaway is capital W Washed up, and Jake Gyllenhaal has done his Marvel Jury Duty time. On the topic of A24’s failings, I still have nightmares about “The Idol.” Reflecting on A24’s best properties, I can see that they thrived the most as short and sweet explorations of unique concepts that tap into the current zeitgeist. That being said, even the best production studios have flops, and you’re really stretching to cherry pick evidence to back your case. It’s out of our hands now, though. All we can do is knock on wood and hope it gets better with time rather than worse. Seeing how much joy you get out of being a short-sighted cynic, though, I’m starting to think you want it to fail.

@buffyssteak: I still think you’re a gullible chump for jumping on this bandwagon so easily, but you might have a teeny tiny point. I’ll wait for the second season to come out before I start really tearing it apart — an inevitability I’ll be sure to find you online for. I know you’ll probably have the time; you seem way too invested in this BEEF. Maybe touch some grass while you wait for that second season?

@redmeatreverend: *ACCOUNT DELETED*

Summer Managing Arts Editor Mina Tobya can be reached at mtobya@umich.edu and Daily Arts Writer James Johnston can be reached at johnstjc@umich.edu

The post Who’s excited for ‘BEEF’ season 2? appeared first on The Michigan Daily.


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