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    Steven Yeun Wins His First Emmy for His Role as Danny Cho in ‘Beef’

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    Steven Yeun captured the Emmy for best actor in a limited series for his role as Danny Cho in “Beef,” the heralded Netflix series that portrays a seemingly low-stakes road-rage incident both intertwining and dominating the lives of Cho and Ali Wong’s Amy Lau.Cho is a struggling contractor in Los Angeles, whose life already seems hopeless when Lau careens into him. The pair become entangled in a series of escalating acts of retribution across the show’s 10 episodes.“I want to say thank you to Danny for teaching me that judgment and shame is a lonely place, but compassion and grace is where we can all meet,” Yeun said during his acceptance speech.Lee Sung Jin’s dramedy series cleaned up on Monday night, winning awards for writing and directing, and also taking the award for best limited series. Wong also won best actress in a limited series. Joseph Lee and Maria Bello also earned nominations for their roles.Yeun, a veteran of “The Walking Dead,” entered as a favorite to win his first Emmy. He beat out the nominees Taron Egerton (“Black Bird”), Kumail Nanjiani (“Welcome to Chippendales”), Evan Peters (“Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”), Michael Shannon (“George & Tammy”) and Daniel Radcliffe (“Weird: The Al Yankovic Story”). More

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      See Golden Globes Winners Celebrate Their Big Moment

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      What Winning a Golden Globe Looks LikeLily Gladstone, Paul Giamatti, Billie Eilish and stars from “Succession,” “Beef” and “The Bear” are captured in their moments of glory.The Los Angeles-based photographer Erik Carter was backstage at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, where he photographed Golden Globes winners for The Times.Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion PictureDa’Vine Joy Randolph, ‘The Holdovers’“I hope I’ve helped you all find your inner Mary. Because there’s a little bit of her in all of us.” — Da’Vine Joy Randolph, in her acceptance speech. She played Mary, the mourning mother, in Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.”Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy‘The Bear’From left: Abby Elliott, Jeremy Allen White, Lionel Boyce, Ayo Edebiri, Liza Colón-Zayas (foreground), Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Matty Matheson and Edwin Lee Gibson.“There are so many people I probably forgot to thank. Oh, my God, all of my agents’ and managers’ assistants! To the people who answer my emails. Y’all are real ones. Thank you for answering my crazy, crazy emails.” — Ayo Edebiri, in her acceptance speech for best actress in a TV comedy.Best Original Song, Motion PictureBillie Eilish and Finneas, ‘What Was I Made For?,’ from ‘Barbie’“It was exactly a year ago, almost, that we were shown the movie and I was very, very miserable and depressed at the time. Writing that song kind of saved me a little bit. A year later and here we are, and it’s really surreal. I feel incredibly, incredibly lucky and grateful.” — Billie Eilish, in her acceptance speech.Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, DramaLily Gladstone, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’“This is for every little rez kid, every little urban kid, every little Native kid who has a dream, who is seeing themselves represented.” — Lily Gladstone, in her acceptance speech.Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionSteven Yeun, ‘Beef’Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy‘Poor Things’From left, the director Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef and Mark Ruffalo.Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or ComedyPaul Giamatti, ‘The Holdovers’Best Performance by an Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionAli Wong, ‘Beef’“I really need to thank the father of my children and my best friend, Justin, for all of your love and support. It’s because of you that I’m able to be a working mother.” — Ali Wong, in her acceptance speech.Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Supporting RoleElizabeth Debicki, ‘The Crown’Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, DramaKieran Culkin, ‘Succession’“Thanks to ‘Succession,’ I’ve been in here a couple of times. It’s nice, but I sort of accepted I’m never going to be onstage, so this is a nice moment.” — Kieran Culkin, in his acceptance speech. More

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      Best and Worst Moments From the 2024 Golden Globes

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      Lily Gladstone made history, Jo Koy did not. And dressing on a theme proved a hit. These were just some of the highs and lows.The Golden Globes had a lot to prove Sunday night. It was the award show’s return to a primo broadcast time slot after a series of scandals over finances and lack of diversity upended what used to be known as the biggest party of the year in Hollywood. Now privately owned with a greatly expanded pool of voters, the Globes were making a bid for relevance. Did that bid succeed? Well, it helped that this was the first major televised ceremony since the writers’ and actors’ strike brought Hollywood to a halt, and stars and studios looking to goose their Oscar chances turned out after some skipped last year’s event. Then again, this wasn’t the liveliest show. Here are the highs and lows as we saw them.Most Historic Win: Lily GladstoneIn a momentous triumph, Lily Gladstone became the first Indigenous person to win a Golden Globe for best actress, for her turn in “Killers of the Flower Moon” as an Osage woman whose family members are killed in a plot to take their fortune. Gladstone, whose background is Blackfeet and Nez Perce, was only the second Native actress to receive recognition from the Globes: Irene Bedard was nominated in 1995 for “Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee,” a television movie.After receiving a standing ovation, an overcome Gladstone spoke a few lines in the Blackfeet language, “the beautiful community nation that raised me, that encouraged me to keep going, keep doing this,” she explained in English.“I’m so grateful that I can speak even a little bit of my language,” she added later, “because in this business, Native actors used to speak their lines in English, and then the sound mixers would run them backwards to accomplish Native languages on camera.” She dedicated the award to “every little rez kid” who had a dream. — Esther ZuckermanLeast Suspenseful Rivalry: ‘Oppenheimer’ vs. ‘Barbie’The presenter Oprah Winfrey, far right, watches as the “Oppenheimer” team accepts best drama. From left, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emma Thomas, Ludwig Goransson, Florence Pugh, Christopher Nolan and Cillian Murphy. Sonja Flemming/CBSIn the end, the great “Barbenheimer” face-off was a complete fizzle. “Oppenheimer,” with eight nominations, won five trophies — best drama, director, actor, supporting actor and score. After sitting on the sidelines for most of the night, “Barbie,” the ceremony’s most-nominated film, with nine nods, finally got in the game with a win in the rather meaningless category of best blockbuster (“cinematic and box office achievement”). “Barbie” got a second prize in the form of best song, which was kind of a no-brainer because the film’s tunes filled three of the category’s six slots. Time to rev up that Oscar campaign, Babs! — Brooks BarnesBest Looks: Stars Dressing on a ThemeFrom left, Oprah Winfrey, Margot Robbie and Taylor Swift.Getty ImagesJust in case anyone forgot about the “Barbie” effect of last year, which turned entire crowds pink, Margot Robbie managed to out-“Barbie” her own red carpets past in a sequined slither of hot pink Armani paired with a bristling pink tulle boa, all of it inspired by the 1977 Superstar Barbie.As it turned out, however, that was just the beginning of the on-theme dressing. Oprah Winfrey wore Louis Vuitton in the color purple, in honor of — you guessed it — “The Color Purple,” for which she served as a producer. And Taylor Swift wore glimmering Gucci in the sort of bright leafy shade that evoked nothing so much as the color of money and made it impossible to forget just how much green her Eras Tour has generated.Together they made for a more interesting trend than the traditional strapless frocks that also proliferated. (The best of those being Elle Fanning’s vintage Balmain and Rosamund Pike’s not-quite-vintage 2019 Dior: if you’re going to go with the classics, might as all go back to the source). And the theme dressing added a new dimension to the brand-marketing machine that the red carpet has become. — Vanessa FriedmanFlattest Monologue: Jo KoyThe host, Jo Koy, onstage at the Beverly Hilton ceremony.Sonja Flemming/CBSI had high hopes for Jo Koy, the 52-year-old Filipino American comedian who is only the second Asian American to host the Golden Globes. (Sandra Oh was the first, in 2019.) But Koy’s opening monologue felt like a highlight reel of mortifying moments. From a weird joke about being attracted to a plastic Barbie to one about the “Killers of the Flower Moon” filmmakers stealing the plot, Koy’s jokes met an icy reception from the audience. To be fair, he had barely any time to prepare. “I got the gig 10 days ago!” he said from the stage. “You want a perfect monologue?” It’s a shame, but Koy’s jokes will probably end up being best remembered for the memes they inspire on social media. — Christopher KuoFlattest Joke: Koy Riffing on Taylor SwiftWhy you gotta be so mean? The host’s jokes did not really improve as the night went on.“We came on after a football doubleheader,” Koy said as the ceremony returned from its first commercial break. “The big difference between the Golden Globes and the N.F.L.? On the Golden Globes, we have fewer camera shots of Taylor Swift.”Koy seemed to swallow the word “camera” as he said it. And when the actual camera, on cue, panned to Swift, she appeared deeply unamused, her lips pursed, her eyes stern as she sipped a drink.It is true that Swift has been shown many, many times on N.F.L. telecasts since she began showing up at Kansas City Chiefs games to cheer on the team’s tight end, Travis Kelce.But Koy’s joke, at the expense of perhaps the most famous person in a room full of famous people, fell flat again. So flat, that he muttered, “Sorry about that.” — Matt StevensMost Historic Double Win: Steven Yeun and Ali Wong of ‘Beef’Steve Yeun and Ali Wong with their trophies for “Beef.”Robyn Beck/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesThey may have gone head-to-head in a bitter feud that crossed 10 episodes of “Beef,” the Netflix road rage comedy that gained a huge online fandom last year, but Ali Wong and Steven Yeun both left the Globes on Sunday with statuettes in hand, as the first actors of Asian descent to win honors for a limited series or TV movie. First, Wong won best actress in the category and delivered an emotional acceptance speech, thanking her ex-husband and children for making it possible for her to be a working mother in Hollywood. A few minutes later, Steven Yeun won best actor in the same category. How do we order up a sophomore outing for Amy and Danny? — Sarah BahrBest Speech With a Twist: YeunThe most entertaining speeches take us on a ride. That’s what Yeun did when he won for actor in a limited series. He started out with a serious and vulnerable tone, saying, “The story I usually tell of myself to myself is one of isolation and, like, separateness.” But then he threw in a twist, saying that once he climbed onto the stage he realized that — wait, that inner monologue “feels a lot like the plot to ‘Frozen.’” It was unexpected yet heartfelt, a joke for his daughter. — Brooks BarnesBest Speeches With a Dose of Honesty: Kieran Culkin and Robert Downey Jr.Kieran Culkin accepting his “Succession” trophy.Sonja Flemming/CBSRobert Downey Jr. accepting his best supporting actor award.Sonja Flemming/CBSAwards show speeches tend to be mash-ups of gushing adjectives meant to communicate maximum gratitude — “amazings” and “incredibles” aplenty — but a couple of actors were refreshingly measured in their delight. This isn’t the Oscars, after all. Winning for his role as Roman Roy in “Succession,” Kieran Culkin told the audience, simply, “This is a nice moment for me.” And when Robert Downey Jr. stepped up to the microphone, he deflected applause for his supporting performance in “Oppenheimer” by addressing the prescription medication powering his nonchalance onstage: “Yeah, yeah, I took a beta blocker,” he said, “so this is going to be a breeze.” — Julia JacobsBiggest Upset: Best Screenplay for ‘Anatomy of a Fall’The previous group of Golden Globe voters could always be counted on to give us a few unpredictable wins, and though they weren’t always welcome swerves, they at least lent the night a charge of anything-could-happen frisson. That feeling was hard to come by this year, thanks to a series of respectable, safe choices, though the unexpected triumph of “Anatomy of a Fall” in the screenplay category certainly woke up the ballroom: In years past, Globe voters almost certainly would have chosen a starrier pick like “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer,” and it was fun to get a worthy upset. — Kyle BuchananWorst Award: The Cinematic and Box Office Achievement GlobeGreta Gerwig, left, and Margot Robbie enjoy their “Barbie” win.Sonja Flemming/CBSThe Globes added a new box-office trophy this year, with nominees required to have earned at least $150 million (or, as the guidelines put it, “commensurate digital streaming viewership”). The whole thing is a little silly, especially in a year in which two huge hits — “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — were also popular with critics and nominated for many awards. Is it an effort to revive the academy’s widely derided attempt to add a best popular film category to the Oscars? Or just to get more A-listers in the room (including, yes, Taylor Swift)?Entertainment plaudits are basically made up of vibes and campaigning, meant to create heated discussions. But if there’s anything in movies that’s impossible to argue with, it’s box office receipts and clicks. So what was the undisputed biggest box office achievement in 2023? “Barbie.” Who won this new Globe? “Barbie.” Who else could it have been? — Alissa WilkinsonBest Writers’ Revenge: A Script ‘Written’ by Studio ExecutivesDaniel Kaluuya, left, Hailee Steinfeld and Shameik Moore at the Globes.Sonja Flemming/CBSPerhaps as an ode to the recently settled Hollywood writers’ strike, the presenters Daniel Kaluuya, Hailee Steinfeld and Shameik Moore announced they would introduce the best screenplay nominees with words written by studio executives — although given the dry, stilted language, the script may well have been generated by ChatGPT.“I am relatable,” Steinfeld intoned. “I am enjoy the Golden Globes.”“I do agree,” Moore said.“As do I,” Kaluuya agreed.At least the “executives” generated a few laughs.— Jonathan AbramsLeast Satisfying Reunion: ‘Suits’What is a “Suits” reunion without Meghan Markle? The law-firm drama that has found unprecedented success on Netflix more than a decade after its debut deserved a moment in the sun just for the sheer number of viewers it accrued in recent months. And I’m sure actors Gabriel Macht, Patrick J. Adams, Gina Torres and Sarah Rafferty were thrilled to present the award for best drama series. But where was Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who was a star of the show and played a key character? She doesn’t live very far from the Beverly Hilton, where the ceremony was held. “Suits” fans had to be thrilled that their beloved cast was alive and well, but without Meghan, can you really call it a reunion? — Nicole SperlingMost Improved Angle: Shots of the Audience Behind the PresentersAmerica Ferrera and Kevin Costner were among the presenters shot from different angles.Sonja Flemming/CBSKeeping things interesting visually during an awards show can be a challenging task. Talking heads. Nominees. Award. Speech. Rinse. Repeat. But on Sunday night, the producers mixed it up by pulling a simple reversal and shooting some of the presenters with the audience in the background. It changed the feel while allowing us at home to peek behind some of the presenters during the more boring banter to check out the celebrities behind them. Who’s paying attention? Who can’t be bothered? One drawback was that the lighting didn’t always favor the presenters at these varying angles. But overall, it felt fun and gave a little jolt to the proceedings. — Mekado MurphyMost Surprising (Apparent) Spoiler: ‘Anatomy of a Fall’“Anatomy of a Fall” took home two Globes for its taut dissection of the frictions in a marriage, exposed when a wife is put on trial and accused of pushing her husband to his death at their home in the French Alps. Under the scrutiny of a court and the couple’s preteen son, Sandra (Sandra Hüller), defends herself as viewers are left to plumb the evidence for signs of whether her husband’s death resulted from an assault, an accidental fall or his own leaping.But as she accepted the award for best screenplay for the film, written with her husband, Arthur Harari, Justine Triet maybe revealed what her script did not. Describing their thinking when they completed the script, she said: “OK we are having a lot of fun but it’s radical and dark, nobody’s going to see this movie. It’s too long, they talk all the time, there’s no score — a couple fighting, suicide, a dog vomiting. I mean, come on.” The (accidental?) disclosure of the manner of death seemed out of step for one of the creators of a film so meticulously built to leave audiences guessing. — Elena BergeronBest and Worst Reinvention: The Globes ThemselvesWith the Globes trying to claw their way to semi-legitimacy, this was a perfectly reasonable attempt, but it all felt perfunctory.High: Intro segments tend toward the cringey at every awards show, and there were plenty of awkward moments here, too, but there were some bright spots: Keri Russell and Ray Romano’s fun repartee, Andra Day and Jon Batiste’s giggly banter and especially Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell’s goofy dance bit. Ferrell’s signature outburst — “The Golden Globes have not changed!” — was probably the biggest laugh of the night.Low: Kind of everything? The whole ceremony had sort of a blah energy. The speeches were all fine, but none was especially wild. The biggest shock came when the broadcast included what sounded like glasses clattering to the floor. — Margaret Lyons More

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      Golden Globes: Ali Wong Makes History With Best Actress Win for ‘Beef’

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      Ali Wong’s character in the Netflix comedy “Beef” faced plenty of challenges and frustrations, but the actress herself was nothing less than triumphant on Sunday night. Wong made history by becoming the first actress of Asian descent to win a Golden Globe for best actress in the limited series or TV movie category.The comedian stars alongside Steven Yeun in the 10-episode tragicomedy about a bitter feud that develops between two strangers after a traffic incident. The series debuted in April and received plenty of praise online, with audiences celebrating its complexity, unpredictability and relatability. (Well, hopefully it wasn’t too relatable.) Critics were also fans of “Beef,” which James Poniewozik, chief television critic for The New York Times, called “one of the most invigorating, surprising and insightful debuts of the past year.”While “Beef” is in the limited series category at the Globes and at the Emmys, which will be awarded next week, the show’s creator, Lee Sung Jin, has said he is open to exploring different directions for another season, including the possibility of a new ensemble cast.Wong expressed her appreciation for Lee and the show’s director, Jake Schreier, in her acceptance speech. “I really need to thank Sonny so much for creating such a beautiful show and inviting me to be a part of it. And the friendship that I made with Steven and Jake and the rest of the cast and crew will always be the best thing that came out of ‘Beef,’” she said. More

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      ‘Beef’ Creator, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun Address David Choe Assault Story

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      The creator and stars of the new Netflix series said they accepted David Choe’s contention that he had fabricated the detailed story he told on a 2014 podcast about coercing a masseuse into sex.The creator and two stars of the new Netflix series “Beef” addressed a brewing controversy on Friday about another actor on the show who said on a podcast in 2014 that he had sexually assaulted a masseuse, comments now recirculating on social media.David Choe, an actor and artist, has long said that he made up the incident he recounted on his podcast, an assertion that the show’s creator, Lee Sung Jin, and its lead actors, Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, backed up in a statement.“The story David Choe fabricated nine years ago is undeniably hurtful and extremely disturbing,” said Lee, Yeun and Wong, who are also executive producers on “Beef.” “We do not condone this story in any way, and we understand why this has been so upsetting and triggering.”They added, “We’re aware David has apologized in the past for making up this horrific story, and we’ve seen him put in the work to get the mental health support he needed over the last decade to better himself and learn from his mistakes.”Netflix confirmed the authenticity of the statement, which was made exclusively to Vanity Fair, but declined to comment. Choe and representatives for Lee, Yeun and Wong did not immediately respond to requests for comment.On a 2014 episode of a podcast that Choe co-hosted, he talked about engaging in what he called “rape-y behavior” when he coerced a masseuse into oral sex. He later said that the story was made up.“I never raped anyone,” he told The New York Times two years ago.The clip from his podcast has recirculated on social media since the premiere of “Beef” this month. The show stars Yeun and Wong as Angelenos who get into a road-rage conflict that ripples into the rest of their lives, and Choe appears in seven episodes as the cousin of Yeun’s character.The 10-episode season has received praise from critics and was the service’s second-most-watched English-language show this week, according to Netflix.Choe hosted a four-episode limited series on FX and Hulu in 2021 and has appeared in other shows sporadically, including in one episode of “The Mandalorian.” “Beef” is his first substantial acting role.Choe gained broad recognition in 2012, after an initial public offering appeared to make him a multimillionaire.Several years earlier, the entrepreneur Sean Parker had asked Choe to paint murals in the Palo Alto, Calif., offices of an internet start-up. Parker offered him $60,000 or stock in the nascent company, Choe has said, which is how Choe wound up a very early shareholder in Facebook, which is now called Meta. More

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      ‘Beef’ Review: Mad in America

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      A thrilling dark comedy explores the complexity of anger, through a road-rage feud between two drivers who are more alike than it seems.“I’m so sick of smiling,” says Danny Cho (Steven Yeun) in the first episode of Netflix’s “Beef.” You may have noticed that he’s not alone in this. Blame it on the pandemic, the culture, the economy, but people are mad right now, on planes and on trains and — like Danny and his car-crossed antagonist, Amy Lau (Ali Wong) — in automobiles.“Beef,” a dark comedy about a road-rage incident that careers disastrously off-road, has good timing, but that’s not enough to make a great TV series. What makes this one of the most invigorating, surprising and insightful debuts of the past year is how personally and culturally specific its study of anger is. Every unhappy person in it is unhappy in a different and fascinating way.Amy and Danny’s high-speed chase through suburban Los Angeles, following a run-in at a big-box-store parking lot, sets the tone for all 10 episodes (which arrive on Thursday). The show floors the accelerator with heedless gusto, racing a course of revenge, subterfuge and terrible decisions.But what gives “Beef” its interest is its attention to the motivations that brought the pair to that parking lot in the first place.Danny, a hard-working, hapless contractor saving to build a house for his Korean parents, is trying to return merchandise while fretting over his family and finances. Amy, an entrepreneur who married into art-world money, is trying to sell her small business to the big store’s owner, a deal she hopes will finally allow her to exhale after years of pressure. Each is this close to breaking, and each, after their near fender-bender, ends up being the other’s last straw.It is easy to see how this could have become a cynical class-war story: His working-class struggle vs. her upscale ennui, his pickup vs. her Mercedes. Instead the creator, Lee Sung Jin (“Dave”), couples a raucous story with a generous spin on the truism that the biggest jerk you meet is fighting battles you know nothing about.Danny’s problems are more existential and dire: He is the hard-working son who has taken his family on his back, including not only his parents but also his crypto-bro younger brother (Young Mazino) and his ex-convict cousin (a volatile David Choe), who become dangerously entangled in his payback schemes. It’s not just cash that he lacks; he feels an emptiness, which he tries to fill by stress-eating Burger King chicken sandwiches and by joining a rock-gospel church, an intriguing if underdeveloped subplot.Steven Yeun in “Beef.” Most of the major characters are shaped by their family and upbringing.NetflixAmy has a cushier living situation, but her stressors are not so different. She smiles through endless microaggressions from Jordan (Maria Bello), her business’s rich white potential buyer, and the intrusions of her wealthy mother-in law (Patti Yasutake). Her husband, George (Joseph Lee), has the sweet but irritating chill of privilege. She keeps a gun (paging Mr. Chekhov) in a home safe, a seeming symbol of Amy herself — a sleek container that keeps something dangerous locked away.As their battle escalates, Amy and Danny become enmeshed in each other’s lives, and their similarities become clearer. “Beef” develops into something of a love story, except about hate. You’d expect Yeun (“Minari,” “The Walking Dead”) to excel in the show’s drama and the comedian Wong (“Tuca & Bertie”) to nail the humor, but they do the reverse just as well. Wong especially taps the tension behind Amy’s exquisite octagonal glasses, the pressure to provide and be perfect — she’s like Rachel Fleishman with a gun instead of yoga.That nearly all of the major characters in “Beef” are Asian is both a casual fact of the setting and integral to its themes. These are characters given less social permission for anger in America, in part because of “model minority” stereotypes of docility. (“You have this serene Zen Buddhist thing going on,” Jordan tells Amy.)But they’re also shaped by their family and upbringing. Amy describes learning to repress her emotions from her father — “Chinese guy from the Midwest, I mean, communication wasn’t his forte” — and her mother, a Vietnamese immigrant who “thought talking about your feelings was the same thing as complaining.”As philosophy, self-help and “Star Wars” have taught us, anger is a destructive emotion. “Beef” provides ample evidence of this, in the cascade of escalations that builds to a climax so weird and explosive that it defies spoiling. And the personal war brings out the best in neither Amy, who insults Danny as “poor,” nor Danny, who calls Amy “some rich bitch from Calabasas.”But “Beef” also pushes past easy cant to explore the idea that anger — even petty, stupid anger — can be liberating. At the end of the first episode, Amy and Danny meet face to face, and it does not end well; she winds up chasing him down the street on foot. He, despite having bought himself trouble he can’t afford, wears a wide, childlike smile. She, planning her next countermove, relaxes into a tiny grin.It’s the first lightness you see on either of their faces. Their dispute will prove to be the worst thing that has happened to either of them, but in the moment, it is also the best. They fight not just out of pride but also out of their seeming belief that their rage might somehow make everything right.Among the motifs that Lee Sung Jin weaves through “Beef” is hunger. Danny has his Burger King addiction — he eats like it’s his job, straining and puffing — while Amy has a sweet tooth, a legacy of her depressed childhood, that she has passed on to her daughter. Which brings us back to this weird, remarkable show’s title.Colloquially, “Beef” means “feud.” But this series shows you how anger can also, for some people, be meat. It fills an emptiness, it sustains, it momentarily satisfies — even if, in excess, it’s terrible for your heart. More

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      In ‘Beef,’ Road Rage Is Only the Beginning

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      LOS ANGELES — In the upcoming Netflix series “Beef,” Steven Yeun plays Danny Cho, a struggling handyman in Los Angeles who becomes embroiled in a road rage incident with Amy Lau, a wealthy entrepreneur played by Ali Wong. Over 10 episodes, their simmering hatred fuels an escalating series of poor decisions, setting off a bizarre chain of retribution including but not limited to robbery, vandalism, catfishing and bad Yelp reviews.The show was created by the writer Lee Sung Jin (“Dave,” “Two Broke Girls”), who first worked with Yeun and Wong on the animated series “Tuca & Bertie.” (Yeun and Wong played a robin and a song thrush who are lovers.) Around the same time, Lee was involved in a road rage confrontation in Los Angeles that would inspire his new series.“Beef” is Lee’s first outing as a series creator and showrunner. It also features Yeun’s first regular role on live-action TV since his character, Glenn, was killed off “The Walking Dead” in 2016. Glenn’s gruesome murder sparked viewer outrage but things worked out great for Yeun, who has since appeared in acclaimed films like “Minari,” which brought him an Academy Award nomination for best actor, and “Burning.”Lee and Yeun are set to work together again on Marvel’s forthcoming “Thunderbolts” movie, their first forays into the MCU: Lee as a writer, Yeun in a yet-to-be-revealed role.On an afternoon in March, Yeun and Lee got together at the Apple Pan, a beloved hole-in-the-wall burger joint on L.A.’s west side. Over hickory burgers, fries and slices of pie, they talked about how they met, the inspiration for “Beef” and their Korean church connections. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.In “Beef,” Yeun and Ali Wong play strangers who become embroiled in a bitter feud.NetflixTell me about the “incident.”LEE SUNG JIN I was getting on the 10. The light turned green and I didn’t go right away, and a white BMW X3 starts honking like crazy, pulls up next to me and [the driver] says a bunch of [expletive] at me. I was like, That’s not OK — I’m going to follow him home. In reality, I wasn’t actually going to follow him; I’m not that courageous. But back then I lived in Santa Monica — when we both got off at Fourth Street, I’m just commuting home, but I’m sure he was like, Oh my God, this guy is following me.I thought there was something interesting there, how we’re all locked in our subjective world views, and we go around projecting a lot on the other person and not really seeing things for what they are.How did you two first meet?LEE We actually met through Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. I was doing their pilot “Singularity” for FX, and I had really wanted to work with Steven. Seth and Evan are huge fans of his. [To Yeun] I don’t know how they knew you.STEVEN YEUN I don’t either. I guess maybe comic book worlds? Just me being in “Walking Dead” and them being fans of that world. And being gracious people, too, they invited me over to their house one time and properly smoked me out.LEE So Seth and Evan [introduced Lee and Yeun]. And after that first meeting, we had you and your wife over at our place. I was with my now-wife, and I remember feeling like we were going to know each other for a while. There was just something very comforting and familiar. We have very similar backgrounds.YEUN We’re not from the coasts. And we’re Korean. And we’re working in this business.Playing his character in “Beef” was “almost therapeutic,” Yeun said. “How do we see the world when you’re living in this space of, like, This place is designed to crush me?”Ryan Pfluger for The New York TimesLEE And we both came up in the Korean church.How did you come up with the character of Danny?LEE I’m sure there’s a lot of me in Danny, but I think there’s a lot of all of us in Danny. I knew I wanted this guy to have a chip on his shoulder. I knew he lived in Reseda. I had just bought a home, and I was hearing a lot of funny stories about handymen and contractors shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to their work.YEUN Danny was an interesting thought experiment — it was almost therapeutic. How do we see the world when you’re living in this space of, like, This place is designed to crush me? I’m pretty sure all of us feel that way to some degree.What was that like to play for 10 episodes?YEUN I was pretty exhausted most days; you’re kind of living in a hypervigilant state. But I also relate to that life. I never dreamed I would be in this position in this business, and I think that makes you learn how to avoid things that could potentially harm you. For me, that seems like a very immigrant lens.Have you had road rage?YEUN Oh for sure. I think anybody who tells you that they haven’t is a liar. But my road rage is usually contained in my car.Yeun plays a handyman with a chip on his shoulder.Andrew Cooper/NetflixWong plays a wealthy entrepreneur.Andrew Cooper/NetflixThe series revolves around this relationship between Danny and Amy, but you aren’t together physically for much of it. What was that like?YEUN It was exciting, because you would hear the rumblings of how shooting was going on the other side. And I’m sure she was also hearing the other side. But then every time we would get together, it was very electric.I could see you and Ali getting into it, just as people.YEUN There’s good electricity between Ali and I.LEE They’re very similar, but opposite in a lot of ways — I mean that in the best way. We’re all close friends but I think when you have that, it does cause electricity.Much of the series takes place in parts of Los Angeles you rarely see on TV, including a Korean church in the Valley, complete with a praise team.LEE I’ve actually known Justin Min [who plays the praise team leader] since he was a kid, because his older brother, Jason, was my best friend in college. When Jason moved out to L.A., Steven, before “The Walking Dead,” went to the same church as him and was in the praise team.Jason actually arranged all the praise team songs in the show, and we prerecorded the music with this amazing producer, Ariel Rechtshaid, who does, like, Beyoncé and Adele. Jason is a pastor now, and he pulled his actual praise team from his church, and there were extras from that church who knew you, remember? There were these little kids going, “Uncle Steven!”YEUN That week was really fun, because we shot at an actual Korean church in Chatsworth. There was something very nostalgic about that week.“I thought there was something interesting there, how we’re all locked in our subjective world views,” Lee said about the incident that inspired the show.Ryan Pfluger for The New York TimesL.A. has always had plenty of road rage, but the problem got even worse during the pandemic. To what extent is this a Covid series?LEE We wrote it during Covid, and we were seeing headlines like: “Because of Covid, road rage up.” So yeah, it was in the air.But even aside from the rage, the thing that gets exacerbated with Covid is this sense of isolation and loneliness. When Amy talks to George in the intimacy exercise scene about this feeling she’s had forever, that came from me telling the writers’ room about my own low points. I was talking about my goddaughter, Lily — she was 4 at the time — and how I just hope she never has this feeling, and I started crying because it was very sad to think that she’s going to have to deal with it. I think that the show is really getting at the core of this feeling that a lot of us can’t escape.Do you ever wonder why you got so mad during the encounter that inspired this show? Or is it a common thing for you?LEE Um, yeah, I think I should probably reflect on it more.YEUN I think you’ve done quite a lot of reflecting!LEE Well, I’ve definitely thought a lot about not just that incident but why I am the way I am. And why any of us are.It’s easy, in writing, to point to one thing and be like, Oh, it was this trauma in my past, like, A leads to B leads to C. But that’s just not how we work. The lines aren’t straight — it’s very wiggly, and there’s a lot of stuff. I think that’s what the show wants to explore: That it’s not one thing. It really is about how hard it is to be alive.Is that BMW driver going to see a picture of you and go, Hey, that guy made this into a TV show?LEE No, I was wearing sunglasses.YEUN Also, that guy probably gets into five of those a day. He’s telling somebody off because they didn’t go fast enough? That guy lives in that space. More

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      ‘Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV’ Review: Art Onscreen

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      A new documentary follows the ceaseless innovations of a man who made art out of television sets and found inspiration in disruption.Nam June Paik died in 2006, one year before the first iPhone was released. Now that hand-held glowing screens have become as dominant as television once was, one misses that influential artist’s subversive spirit. But it’s on ample display in Amanda Kim’s new film “Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV,” which shows how Paik forged novel avenues of expression and communication in the televisual era.Born into privilege in Korea in 1932, during the Japanese occupation, Paik studied unhappily to be a composer in Germany until he was electrified by a bold and divisive John Cage performance in 1957. Over the next 10 years, he was off like a rocket: staging outré musical performances with the cellist Charlotte Moorman, joining the raucous Fluxus avant-garde collective in New York, building a robot and pioneering the use of TV sets in gallery art.Paik found many ways to mess with the banal monitors, which were stacked, worn, and, famously, plunked opposite a contemplating Buddha. But an art documentary like Kim’s also questions first principles generally, to underline the beauty and power built into objects around us. Beyond eliciting truly lovely halos of eerie color from video, Paik sought to democratize technology through innovations in video production and live global broadcast. (Paik’s aphoristic writings are read in voice-over by the actor Steven Yeun.)Despite the interviews with graying contemporaries that bubble up in the stew of imagery, the film’s sense of art history is somewhat blinkered by lack of context. But Paik is undeniable, creating despite lean times (and slowing after a 1996 stroke). His dragging of a violin on a string — shown in a recurring performance — evokes an almost mystical dedication to disruption.Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TVNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 47 minutes. In theaters. More

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      in Theater

      ‘The Humans’ Review: Reasons (Not) to be Cheerful

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      Stephen Karam’s film adaptation of his powerful play acquires a supernatural sheen as a family gathers for Thanksgiving dinner.“The Humans” — Stephen Karam’s startling film of his 2016 Tony Award-winning play — has seven characters, only six of whom are human. The seventh is a dilapidated Manhattan apartment where three generations of the Blake family have convened for Thanksgiving dinner.The occasion is also a housewarming for Brigid (Beanie Feldstein) and her boyfriend, Richard (Steven Yeun), who have just moved in together and seem blithely unfazed by the monstrous disrepair of their new home. Not so Brigid’s father, Erik (Richard Jenkins), whom we meet staring through a filthy window at the uninviting courtyard below. There’s something despairing in the slump of his shoulders and the set of his mouth; but neither his wife, Deirdre (the magnificent Jayne Houdyshell, reprising her stage role), nor his older daughter, Aimee (Amy Schumer), seems to notice. His mother, Momo (June Squibb), her mind confiscated by dementia, is demanding all their attention.“Don’t wait until after dinner,” Deirdre whispers ominously to Erik, teasing at least one uncomfortable revelation. And as the evening wears on and banal pleasantries rub shoulders with more pointed exchanges, secrets spill with almost comical regularity. The confessions and tensions are commonplace, but “The Humans” is never less than high on the terrible power of the mundane. To that end, Karam, aided by Skip Lievsay’s marvelous sound design, gives the apartment an eerie, sinister life. Thuds and groans and rumbles disturb the dinner, as if the family’s psychic baggage — Erik’s petrifying nightmares; Momo’s unearthly screaming fit — has stirred something foul in the home’s sludgy depths.Thrusting into every crumbling corner, Lol Crawley’s camera distorts and blurs. A faceted glass doorknob turns the screen into a honeycomb of refracted light. Pustules of water-damaged paint bloom on the walls and exposed pipes flake and gurgle. An oppressive sense of ruin blankets the film, its repeated adoption of Erik’s gaze suggesting the projection of an ongoing mental collapse.“Don’t you think it should cost less to be alive?” he bursts out at one point, seemingly at random, as if the decrepitude around him has stirred much larger anxieties. And had I not seen the play, I may not have fully registered how ingeniously Karam has used the freedom of film to open up and underscore his already powerful material. Inside that haunted house, the family members in “The Humans” are all as trapped as Momo is in her illness, shrieking uselessly into the void.The HumansRated R for serious illness and a sex-related secret. Running time: 1 hour 48 minutes. In theaters and on Showtime platforms. More