Netflix has come a long way since the release of its first-ever original series, Lilyhammer. Launched in 2012, that show established the framework for Netflix’s original content strategy, which in the 15 years since has seen the streamer release dozens of high-profile series that have reached massive popularity and high critical acclaim, including House of Cards, Adolescence, and Stranger Things. And now one of Netflix’s best original dramas ever is officially back with a new season, and fans can stream all eight episodes now!
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Beef was a breakout hit when it premiered on Netflix back in 2023. Created by Lee Sung Jin and starring Steven Yeun and Ali Wong as two strangers whose lives collide in an escalating, obsessive vendetta after a road rage incident, the series spent weeks on the Netflix global top 10 charts, was hailed as one of the best TV shows of 2023, and took home numerous Emmy and Golden Globe Awards. Three years later, the show is finally back, with Beef Season 2 shifting to an anthology installment. The new season launched on Netflix on April 16th, with all eight episodes available to binge-watch.
Beef Is One of Netflix’s Best Original Dramas Ever
It didn’t take long for Beef to be crowned among the best of the best. The series, which scored a 98% Rotten Tomatoes critic score in its debut season and an 87% audience rating, uses its tit-for-tat revenge story to explore themes of existential loneliness, unchecked anger, and deep-seated traumas. It’s also an absolutely brutal and unpredictable ride as it masterfully blends intense, breakneck action with moments of profound, quiet reflection and chaotic, often hilarious, emotional turns. The writing is phenomenal, the acting is raw and intense, and the wild, unpredictable nature of the story keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what will happen next.
Beef Season 2 shifts the focus from the original road-rage plot to focus on two couples – played by Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton, and Cailee Spaeny – in a tense, high-stakes feud at an elite country club. Early critic reviews suggest it hasn’t lost anything that made the debut season great. Although Season 2, which examines intergenerational conflict and class, doesn’t hold a critic score, all reviews on Rotten Tomatoes so far have been fresh. Critics are lauding the season as an equally intense, binge-worthy anthology follow-up to the original, with The Guardian writing that “the narrative is constructed with scalpel-sharp precision, teasing out the neuroses of the characters and the appalling behaviour they induce.”
Will There Be a Beef Season 3?
Beef Season 2 will undoubtedly leave fans hungry for more, but the show’s future is still unfortunately hanging in limbo. Beef Season 3 has not been officially confirmed by Netflix, something that will likely hinge on the new season’s performance. Given that the show has shifted to an anthology format, there’s no shortage of stories to tell for any potential future seasons, meaning Beef has the potential to become a long-running series if fans continue to demand more.
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Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
