Netflix is great at churning out shows with diverse casts and high production values, but the writing often fails by being shoddy or downright lackluster. Some scripts are so terrible that an AI tool might as well have regurgitated them. Add to that somehidden gems that are canceledby the platform before being given a chance to wrap up their storylines—a practice that has repeatedly drawn the wrath of fans of those shows (ripSanta Clarita Diet,Mindhunter,Glow). This has not only been tagged as the ‘Netflix curse,’ but it has also managed to discourage new viewers from getting on board later because they don’t want to waste their time watching a show that will forever leave them on a cliffhanger.
Netflix has often been accused of not giving breathing space to shows that need time to thrive in favor of creatively stale enterprises that garner quick eyeballs. But Lee Sung Jin’s miniseriesBeefmight bring about a change in how Netflix does their originals.
A Necessary Breathing Space
Jenji Kohan’sOrange Is The New Black—which told the stories of countless poor, migrant, mentally-ill, cis, and trans women from marginalized backgrounds—got to do something phenomenal in 2013 because it was allowed the space, time, and creative liberty to do so. It came out when there was a void left by the transition from cable TV to OTT.OITNBwas more than a gimmicky representation of politics. Each and every character and their storylines resonated with relevance, which eventually ensured the show would become one of the most influential of that decade.
RELATED:Netflix’s Beef Doesn’t Want to Focus on Race According to Series CreatorThe road rage instigated dark comedy of errors,Beefseems to have brought back that OG Netflix magic. You cannot stop yourself from hitting “Next Episode” even though you know you should savor the experience. There’s the joy of bingeing something close to phenomenal here in the Steven Yeun and Ali Wong starrer because it takes forward the legacy ofOITNB.
““Beef” makes it both relevant and not that Danny and Amy are Asian American,” writesInkoo Kang for the New Yorker. “…the story line feels like a confident step toward Asian American pop culture’s maturation. Unlike the hallmarks of Asian Americana (“The Joy Luck Club,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once”), “Beef” is less interested in dwelling on the cultural clashes that have led to the dislocation of the second generation than in exploring how that generation can raise their children without passing on all the hangups and traumas from their formative years.”
But Will Netflix Change Course?
A study in anger, shame, loneliness, and fear,Beefis also a spiritually cathartic experience. It manages to go beyond asking the same old questions containing all the therapy buzzwords you may find all over your TikTok and Insta feeds. It explores racist, classist, and sexist microaggressions as well as generational trauma while also dropping in doses of body horror and ghoulish nightmares that follow us from our childhoods.
Carrying on the back of the fourth season ofStranger Things, which lagged in its second and third seasons (released in 2017 and 2019), this could usher in Netflix’s second wind; provided, of course, that they fortifyBeef’s ongoing momentum with the necessary changes needed to bolster good storytelling in their productions. Would ‘quality over quantity’ become their mantra again?
Netflix’s criminally underhypedGlow, which starred a diverse group of women and had a unique storyline about female wrestlers in the 80s, was the quieter cousin to these shows in spirit. And it was left to die an equally quiet death before the showrunners got to give it a proper ending with a fourth and final season. In a double whammy, Netflix greenlit a fourth season in August 2019 and reversed the decision in October 2020. COVID-19 halting production was blamed for this cancellation. But the recent revelation by David Fincher about Netflix canceling a third season ofMindhunterdue to budget constraints has been a more frustrating and decisive stance from the platform about where it stands.
RELATED:Exclusive: Beef Stars Joseph Lee and Young Mazino on Their Phenomenal Netflix Series
Even though it was earlier rumored that Fincher’s urge to go back to films is the only thing standing in the way of a third installment, he clarified to French outletLe Journal du Dimanche, “I’m very proud of the first two seasons. But it’s a very expensive show and, in the eyes of Netflix, we didn’t attract enough of an audience to justify such an investment [for Season 3].” Fincher was gracious enough to conclude, “I don’t blame them, they took risks to get the show off the ground, gave me the means to doMankthe way I wanted to do it, and they allowed me to venture down new paths withThe Killer. It’s a blessing to be able to work with people who are capable of boldness. The day our desires are not the same, we have to be honest about parting ways.”
Between 2020 and 2022, the peak pandemic years,BridgertonandSquid Game(a South Korean production that took over the world) were the biggest Netflix originals to debut on the platform.Bridgertongarnered a massive fanbase, and both its seasons managed to reach 500 million views in their first 28 days. However,Bridgerton, likeWednesday(that also finds a place in Netflix’s list of ‘Most popular television series by hours watched in their first 28 days’), has been criticized for its weak writing. Even the relatively well-hyped recent shows likeMonster,Shadow & Bone(that dwindled in favor in its second season),Never Have I Ever,Emily in Paris(that has increasingly become everyone’s favorite hate-watch) andThe Sandmanhave been divisive in their reception.
None of these American Netflix productions have had the same cultural impact or been able to amass the same audience or critical adulation thatOITNBdid. However, the chaotically beautiful storytelling ofBeefhas attained both critical and mass appeal. Asecond season is on the cardstoo, but Lee Sung Jin has mentioned it would involve other characters and “other beefs.” As long as Netflix recognizes this as the turning point and doesn’t fumble the bag, the streaming giant’s golden era may extend.
