The stereotype is nearly inescapable: Asian parents are withholding and cold. Sometimes it surfaces in earnest; on r/AsianParentStories, Redditors lament having parents who never say, “I love you” or “I’m proud of you.” At other times it’s a cheap laugh, as in the viral tweet that reads: “Sex is great but have you ever heard your parents say good job im proud of you in an asian household.”
Even in beloved recent films about Asian families, the trope persists. Michelle Yeoh played a cold mother twice over in 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians and 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once. In the latter film, she redeems herself through an extended, loving monologue to her daughter, but even that one begins with the line, “You are getting fat,” and excludes the words, “I love you.” In 2022, Turning Red, an animated film about a Chinese-Canadian family, featured a similar climax, in which the preteen protagonist’s mom finally says, “I’m sorry.” Online, fans joked that, “for Asians,” that was “the most unrealistic part.”
So it’s a relief that Beef, A24’s new Netflix series from creator Lee Sung Jin, which features a mostly Asian American cast, has little patience for this trope.
Beef revolves around the escalating feud between successful business owner Amy Lau (Ali Wong) and struggling contractor Danny Cho (Steven Yeun). What starts as a parking lot spat turns into a road rage–fueled car chase, which turns into Danny pissing on Amy’s bathroom floor, which turns into Amy vandalizing Danny’s car, and so on. Over ten 40-minute episodes, Amy and Danny’s revenge plots become increasingly erratic, ensnaring both of their families in the chaos.
Amy and Danny’s respective parents feature minimally in Beef. The show is more concerned with the families that they preside over: Amy is the breadwinner for her husband George Nakai (Joseph Lee) and their daughter June (Remy Holt), while Danny takes care of his younger brother Paul (Young Mazino) and shady cousin Isaac (David Choe). This is fairly novel in and of itself. Most recent Asian American entertainment, including the aforementioned movies and 2019’s The Farewell and the ABC series Fresh Off the Boat, has focused on how the children of immigrants misunderstand their parents. Beef features those children all grown up, caring for families of their own.
