Netflix’s upcoming comedy-drama series, Beef, provides a rare opportunity for Steven Yeun to achieve a The Walking Dead character failure. Cast alongside Ali Wong, Beef centers around a chaotic revenge story about two strangers entangled in a road-rage encounter that spirals beyond the highway. Developing friction between Yeun’s Danny Cho and Wong’s Amy Lau, Netflix’s Beef presents an entertainingly violent feud set for an April 2023 release on the streaming service.
South Korean-American actor Steven Yeun rose to prominence from his role as The Walking Dead’s Glenn Rhee, who was killed off in the show’s seventh season. Despite being one of the main characters, Glenn has unfortunately been underutilized in The Walking Dead regarding the series’ exploration of the human condition, which Yeun has admitted to having frustrated him during the long-running zombie series. Given that Netflix’s Beef also takes a jab at morality and humanity, Yeun as Danny offers a way for the actor to compensate for his The Walking Dead Glenn portrayal.
Beef Gives Steven Yeun A Role That The Walking Dead Could Not
Steve Yeun was frustrated with playing Glenn in The Walking Dead, specifically its evolution deprivation from The Walking Dead’s post-apocalyptic universe’s season 1 base layer. As a disservice to both Yeun and Glenn, AMC’s The Walking Dead stripped down the character’s poignant comic book role into a glorified fluff piece meant to spur others’ storylines. On the other hand, Netflix’s Beef allows Yeun to execute a long-coveted transformative part with the struggling contractor, Danny, obsessed with destroying the self-made entrepreneur, Amy.
Greatly reduced as a glaring symbol of humanity’s inherent goodness, Glenn’s archetypal role in The Walking Dead robbed Yeun of a part that should have deconstructed morality’s parameters. Good guy Glenn had the potential to deliver one of the most powerful storylines on the small screen (especially with an actor of Yeun’s caliber) but instead afforded a watered-down reflective journey of survival that’s hopefully not going to be the case with Beef. Yeun’s road rage dark comedy already teased a promising rollercoaster performance of the Burning actor with its trailer.
Why Netflix's Beef Show Is So Exciting
Beef has caused a bit of clamor because American entertainment company A24 and Netflix have collaborated on the show’s creation. Additionally, Beef boasts a talented cast of Asian descent actors led by Yeun and Wong, along with Emily In Paris’ Ashley Park and The Umbrella Academy’s Justin H. Min, among others. While Beef doesn’t seem to have changed anything from the conventions of its genre, it clearly has audience appeal courtesy of its studio origins, development, cast members, and quirky premise.