Netflix’s Hit Crime Series Returns to the Top 10, but There’s a Huge Catch

Beef is back on Netflix, but its return is looking a lot less explosive than the first time around. The Emmy-winning series made a big impression in 2023 by turning a road-rage setup into one of Netflix’s most talked-about original hits, and that kind of breakout success always makes a follow-up harder. Season 2 has arrived with a fresh cast, a new feud, and a much glossier setting, but the early numbers suggest it hasn’t landed with the same force out of the gate. It’s still on the chart, which matters, but the size of the drop is hard to ignore.

According to Variety, Beef Season 2 debuted at No. 10 on Netflix’s English-language TV Top 10 for April 13 through April 19 with 2.4 million views after premiering on April 16. That is a steep fall from Season 1’s launch, which drew 34.1 million hours viewed in its first week in 2023, or about 5.8 million views when adjusted for runtime. In other words, the new season’s opening is down by roughly 58%. The first season also peaked in week two with the equivalent of 12 million views, so Season 2 still has room to grow, but this is a much softer start.

Who Stars in ‘Beef’?

This second season swaps out Steven Yeun and Ali Wong for a new cast led by Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan, reuniting the two stars after Drive and Inside Llewyn Davis. They’re joined by Charles Melton, Cailee Spaeny, Youn Yuh-jung, Seoyeon Jang, and William Fichtner in a new story set around a wealthy California country club, where a fight between a boss and his wife pulls two younger outsiders into a spiraling mess of blackmail, favors, and violence. It’s still recognizably Beef, just with a cleaner, richer, and more socially corrosive setup than the first season’s suburban pressure cooker.

Collider’s review stated that Beef Season 2 is ambitious, well-acted, and often compelling, but it never feels as sharp or complete as the first season. Instead of centering on one tightly wound conflict, this new story spreads itself across two couples, class issues, race, beauty standards, healthcare, and more. That gives the season a lot to say, but not enough time to say it well. The review felt that the “show is trying to do too much with too little. With double the protagonists, the season would have had more room to breathe with even just ten episodes, allowing for the final arc — which takes our protagonists out of California and over to Korea — to feel a bit more natural in the transition.”

Beef is streaming now on Netflix.

Release Date

April 6, 2023

Network

Netflix

Showrunner

Lee Sung Jin

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