Beef is back on Netflix, but its return is looking a lot less explosive than the first time around. The Emmy-winning series made a big impression in 2023 by turning a road-rage setup into one of Netflix’s most talked-about original hits, and that kind of breakout success always makes a follow-up harder. Season 2 has arrived with a fresh cast, a new feud, and a much glossier setting, but the early numbers suggest it hasn’t landed with the same force out of the gate. It’s still on the chart, which matters, but the size of the drop is hard to ignore.
According to Variety, Beef Season 2 debuted at No. 10 on Netflix’s English-language TV Top 10 for April 13 through April 19 with 2.4 million views after premiering on April 16. That is a steep fall from Season 1’s launch, which drew 34.1 million hours viewed in its first week in 2023, or about 5.8 million views when adjusted for runtime. In other words, the new season’s opening is down by roughly 58%. The first season also peaked in week two with the equivalent of 12 million views, so Season 2 still has room to grow, but this is a much softer start.
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Collider Exclusive · Marvel Personality Quiz Which MCU Hero Are You? Spider-Man · Daredevil · Iron Man · Punisher · Thor · Cap
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Six heroes. One destiny. Answer 10 questions to discover which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, values, and fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly, or thunder your way to glory?
🕷️Spider-Man
😈Daredevil
🤖Iron Man
💀Punisher
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⚡Thor
🛡️Cap
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01
What drives you to do what’s right? Choose the answer that feels most like you.
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02
It’s 2 AM. Where are you? Your answer says more about you than you’d think.
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03
How do you handle a villain who keeps escaping justice? Every hero has a method. What’s yours?
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04
How do you feel about keeping a secret identity? The mask — or the lack of one — says everything.
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05
You’ve lost someone important because of your heroism. How do you carry that? Every hero pays a price. The question is how they pay it.
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06
What’s your role when working with a team? Who you are under pressure is who you actually are.
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07
Where do you draw the line between justice and revenge? The answer defines what kind of hero you really are.
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08
When you’re not saving the world, what does life look like? The person behind the mask is always the more interesting story.
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09
What keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
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10
The battle is lost. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and exhausted. What do you do? This is your tiebreaker — choose carefully.
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Your Hero Has Been Identified Your MCU Hero Is…
Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.
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Queens, New York
🕷️ Spider-Man
You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.
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You do the right thing not because it’s easy, but because no one else will.
You understand that responsibility isn’t a burden you choose — it’s one that finds you.
Whether it’s a neighbourhood mugging or a multiverse crisis, you show up.
Peter Parker’s lesson — that great power demands great responsibility — isn’t a slogan to you. It’s the code you live by, even when it costs you everything.
Hell’s Kitchen, New York
😈 Daredevil
You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.
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You use every tool available — your mind, your body, your faith — to protect those the system overlooks.
You’ve looked into the darkness and chosen not to become it, though the line has never been easy.
Matt Murdock’s duality — champion in the courtroom, devil in the alley — mirrors your own.
Relentless, conflicted, and unwilling to stop. That is exactly you.
Stark Industries, Malibu
🤖 Iron Man
Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.
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You lead with your mind and back it up with resources, innovation, and a stubbornness that borders on heroic.
You started out looking out for yourself, but somewhere along the way the world became your responsibility.
Tony Stark’s arc — from ego to sacrifice — is your arc too.
You build, you plan, and when the moment comes, you’re willing to give everything. Because in the end, you’re Iron Man.
New York City
💀 The Punisher
You’ve been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What’s left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.
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You don’t ask for forgiveness, and you don’t expect gratitude.
You see a corrupt, broken world and you’ve decided to do something about it, consequences be damned.
Frank Castle’s war is born from love twisted by loss — and so is yours.
Uncompromising and unflinching — the world may not agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute.
Asgard · Protector of the Nine Realms
⚡ Thor
Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.
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You lead with strength but have learned — sometimes painfully — that true greatness comes from humility and growth.
You’re larger than life, yet more vulnerable than you let on.
Thor’s story is one of transformation: from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to beloved protector.
You bring the storm when it’s needed — and the warmth when it matters just as much.
Brooklyn, New York · The Avengers
🛡️ Captain America
You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.
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You don’t bully the small guy, and you never stop when it gets hard.
Steve Rogers didn’t become a hero when he got the serum — he was always one. So were you.
Your strength isn’t in your fists; it’s in your refusal to compromise what’s right, no matter the cost.
In a world full of people taking the easy road, you’re the one who picks up the shield and stands up — every single time.
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Who Stars in ‘Beef’?
This second season swaps out Steven Yeun and Ali Wong for a new cast led by Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan, reuniting the two stars after Drive and Inside Llewyn Davis. They’re joined by Charles Melton, Cailee Spaeny, Youn Yuh-jung, Seoyeon Jang, and William Fichtner in a new story set around a wealthy California country club, where a fight between a boss and his wife pulls two younger outsiders into a spiraling mess of blackmail, favors, and violence. It’s still recognizably Beef, just with a cleaner, richer, and more socially corrosive setup than the first season’s suburban pressure cooker.
Collider’s review stated that Beef Season 2 is ambitious, well-acted, and often compelling, but it never feels as sharp or complete as the first season. Instead of centering on one tightly wound conflict, this new story spreads itself across two couples, class issues, race, beauty standards, healthcare, and more. That gives the season a lot to say, but not enough time to say it well. The review felt that the “show is trying to do too much with too little. With double the protagonists, the season would have had more room to breathe with even just ten episodes, allowing for the final arc — which takes our protagonists out of California and over to Korea — to feel a bit more natural in the transition.”
Beef is streaming now on Netflix.
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Release Date
April 6, 2023
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Network
Netflix
Showrunner
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Lee Sung Jin
Directors
Hikari, Jake Schreier, Kitao Sakurai, Lee Sung Jin
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