Beef continued its awards season hot streak on Monday, January 15, winning the trophy for Best Limited or Anthology Series at the 2023 Emmy Awards.
Creator Lee Sung Jin accepted the award with his cast and crew behind him on stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. “A lot of the suicidal ideation in this show was based on stuff that I and some of the folks up here have struggled with over the years,” Jin began. “So, I’m really grateful and humbled by everyone who watched the show and reached out about their own personal struggles. It’s very life-affirming, so thank you.”
Jin went on to say that “the greatest joy of working on Beef has truly been working with the folks up here who love so unconditionally.” He then gave an adorable shout-out to his pets at home, saying, “Lastly, everything I do is for my three dogs, so [Food and Drug] Administration, if you could please fast-track that canine anti-aging pill, that would be so lovely.”
Four other series were nominated in this category, including Beef, Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Daisy Jones & The Six, Fleishman Is in Trouble and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Beef and Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story received 13 nominations each this year.
Beef, which stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, previously won the award for Best Limited Series at the Golden Globes on January 7. Yeun, 40, and Wong, 41, also took home Golden Globes for their respective performances and both won in their respective Emmys categories on Monday.
In the hit Netflix dark comedy, two strangers, Amy (Wong) and Danny (Yeun), from opposite sides of the class divide become involved in a dangerous game of cat and mouse after a road rage confrontation in a parking lot.
In April 2023, Wong discussed how her role as Amy in Beef scared her a little as it was so different than any other character she had played before.
“I think the challenge of it was just really fulfilling,” she told Newsweek at the time. “So I’m looking back on the footage and the episodes and being like, ‘Wow, who is that person?’ When I see myself, it’s pretty mystifying and satisfying at the same time.”
Wong went on to share that while she had been sent other dramatic roles before, she had never connected with them before.
“When [Lee] approached me with the role of Amy in the show it scared me, for sure,” the actress shared with the outlet. “But, I was like, ‘OK, I think you can do that.’ I’m still really surprised with all of it and I’m really happy I did it. It was an incredible experience.”
Jin later admitted that he would be open to “make more” of Beef.
“We initially pitched the show as an anthology series where every season is a new beef with new characters,” he explained to The Hollywood Reporter in August 2023. “At the same time, I really love [the characters] Danny and Amy and George and Paul and the world we created. So, I’m really open to it all. Most importantly, I really want to keep working with this crew that I’ve really fallen in love with. But it’s hard for me to say which direction we’ll go without a writers room and any sort of momentum, so I’m really hoping the AMPTP [The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers] comes to its senses.”
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
