Picture: Netflix / A24 Television
Beef is Netflix’s new buzzy awards contender starring Steven Yeun and Ali Wong and with plans for future seasons, will the show get to live them out on Netflix? Here’s what we know so far about season 2 of Beef.
Created by Lee Sung Jin, this new Netflix Original series was created by A24 Television stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, with their characters going toe-to-toe with each other over the course of 10 episodes following a road rage incident that triggers a petty rivalry.
It’s one of several major TV projects to come to Netflix from A24 Television, with more planned for later this year, including Survival of the Thickest.
Has Netflix Renewed or Canceled Beef for a Season 2?
Official Renewal Status: Not yet renewed
Our Renewal Prediction: Likely renewal
As of the time of publishing, the series has yet to be renewed and although there’s some confusion as to whether the series is a limited one (it’s not listed but is being submitted to the Emmys as a limited/anthology), there’s clearly more in the tank with the creator stating in interviews there are three seasons mapped out.
Our reason for renewal is two-fold. One, even though we’re not expecting it to do huge numbers for Netflix, we expect it to fulfill other needs for the streamer, with those being that it’s a well-reviewed awards contender series and, as we saw with Mo, which defied the odds to get a second season renewal, Netflix evidently wants to keep their relationship with A24 alive and well.
Netflix typically waits around a month after it releases a new show to announce any future season so we’ll likely hear back in June or July about the future of BEEF.
How well is Beef performing on Netflix?
Using several metrics, we can look into how well Beef is performing on Netflix.
Let’s begin with the hourly statistics Netflix releases every Tuesday. In its first week, the show debuted as the third biggest English language show only behind The Night Agent, and Love is Blind.
| Week Period | Hours Viewed(M) | Rank | Week in Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 2nd, 2023 to April 9th, 2023 | 34,080,000 | 3 | 1 |
In our top 10 report, What’s on Netflix data guru and contributor Frédéric Durand put the show as one of the weaker debuts from a Thursday with only 5.9M CVE (Complete viewing equivalent – total hours from top 10s divided by the runtime of the show) which places it below That ’90s Show and Resident Evil but above Unstable and The Imperfects.
Beef Week 1 CVE Stats
Early data from FlixPatrol regarding the raw top 10s (they collect daily top 10 TV and movie rankings from 89 countries around the globe) suggests the show is playing well globally and actually rising in the top 10s following its first week on the service picking up 649 points in the top 10s on April 11th and 12th following its initial debut of 312 points.
External demand for the show looks strong, too; according to TelevisionStats.com, as of April 12th Beef was the second biggest show, only behind Succession, nearly a week after its debut. They use statistics from places like Twitter, Wikipedia, Torrents, and Google Trends.
As mentioned above, where the show is really excelling is in its critical acclaim from both critics and viewers alike.
Let’s take a look at the few aggregators thus far:
- RottenTomatoes Critics Score: 99%
- RottenTomatoes Audience Score: 91%
- Metacritic: 86/100
- IMDb: 8.4/10
As mentioned, Netflix is already actively campaigning for the show for the upcoming awards season, listing the title within their Limited Series picks on their dedicated FYC site alongside the likes of DAHMER, Cabinet of Curiosities, From Scratch, and The Watcher.
Beef top pick on Netflix’s FYC Website
What will happen in Beef season 2 on Netflix if renewed?
Warning: spoilers for Beef season 1 are below.
By the end of the ten episodes, things really started getting out of hand in the feud between Amy and Danny.
The season ultimately concludes with Danny on a hospital ventilator after being shot by Amy’s husband George. Other storylines ongoing include the fact we find out Paul hasn’t been dead as initially in the last moments of the final episode when he finally replies back to Danny’s text messages.
On Amy’s side, can she mend her relationship with George after he demanded a divorce and secured emergency custody over June?
We also want to know if there are any additional consequences following the deaths of Jordan Forster and Michael in the penultimate episode.
Of course, given the show has been submitted to the Emmys in the limited/anthology category, we could go to a brand new story in season 2 following a different pair and their beef with each other. As Variety noted, “shows in the limited or anthology race have frequently returned — with or without the original cast or story intact.”
Still, based on interviews, that doesn’t seem to be initially the case.
“I wanted it to have a conclusive feel just in case,” the creator of the show told The Rolling Stone, adding, “but there are a lot of ideas on my end to keep this story going. I think should we be blessed with a Season Two, there’s a lot of ways for Danny and Amy to continue. I have one really big general idea that I can’t really say yet, but I have three seasons mapped out in my head currently.”
We’ll have to wait and see what the creative team behind Beef comes up with going forward.
Do you want to see Beef return to Netflix for a second season? Let us know in the comments and to see a full list of all the shows Netflix has renewed, check out our list of renewals.
