When the Netflix anthology bid “Beef” premièred, successful 2023, it was a revelation successful much ways than one. The show, which traced the depths into which 2 Angelenos descend aft a road-rage incident, reintroduced Ali Wong arsenic a melodramatic lead, gave Steven Yeun a accidental to spell darkly comic, and shined a uncommon airy connected the contented of Asian American intelligence health. It besides remade the vocation of its creator, Lee Sung Jin, a seeming overnight occurrence who really had astir 2 decades of TV-comedy penning nether his belt.
Lee archetypal pitched the amusement aft helium stalked different operator for a fractional hr pursuing a parking-lot dispute; helium likewise drew from beingness for Season 2, which stars Oscar Isaac arsenic Josh, a country-club manager, and Carey Mulligan arsenic his interior-designer wife, Lindsay. The mates are caught connected video having a nasty combat by 2 members of his staff, Austin (Charles Melton) and Ashley (Cailee Spaeny). The Gen Z employees, astir to embark connected their ain marriage, spot the footage arsenic blackmail material—and frankincense an accidental to commencement their adjacent section connected unafraid fiscal footing. As successful the archetypal season, the communicative rapidly broadens beyond the cardinal conflict, roping successful the club’s caller billionaire owner, Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh-jung), her unreliable plastic-surgeon husband, and the seething resentments of some the haves and the have-nots.
I met Lee earlier this month, astatine his caller bureau successful Hollywood. The abstraction was sparsely decorated, but he’d already mounted posters for “Beef”; “It’s Always Sunny successful Philadelphia,” the amusement that gave him his commencement successful the industry; and “Thunderbolts,” a 2025 Marvel movie directed by his originative partner, Jake Schreier. (Lee did a mates of passes connected the blockbuster, and has been tapped to pen Schreier’s upcoming “X-Men” movie with 1 of his “Beef” writers, Joanna Calo.) A freestanding whiteboard charted much than a twelve aboriginal projects.
Lee, who has gone by Sonny since puerility and was credited arsenic Sonny Lee for the archetypal fractional of his career, opened up astir the agelong roadworthy to “Beef”—a travel toward much intentional storytelling, arsenic good arsenic feeling “O.K. successful my ain skin.” Perhaps surprisingly, the “Beef” quality helium seemed to subordinate to astir was Josh, a congenial go-getter who mires himself successful workaholism to debar addressing his grief, arsenic Lee did erstwhile 1 of his dogs died abruptly during production. We talked astir his method of tailoring dialog to his actors, the differences betwixt Korean and American billionaires, and wherefore people and capitalism are specified inescapable themes connected TV today. Our conversation—which contains immoderate spoilers—has been edited and condensed.
You changed your sanction professionally successful 2018 oregon 2019. What led to that decision, and wherefore did you enactment your past sanction first?
It really mightiness person been earlier, due to the fact that I did it connected “Tuca & Bertie.” I was calved successful Korea, went to simple schoolhouse there, past moved to Minnesota [for sixth grade]. And each azygous day, taking attendance was a nightmare, due to the fact that the teacher would adhd caller consonants to the sanction that did not exist. And so, 1 day, without telling anybody, I was staring astatine a portion of homework and wrote “Sonny,” and I told everyone I spell by Sonny now. It acceptable my personality, I think.
How so?
Definitely a radical pleaser. And I consciousness similar my noonchi [a Korean conception for interpersonal observation] is truly strong. So erstwhile you person that beardown self-awareness, you’re ever trying to marque the concern O.K.
When I came up, the penning rooms were antithetic and I was usually the lone idiosyncratic of colour connected staff. You get these subtle digs your full career—some not truthful subtle. One clip connected a show, I went to the bath and came backmost and everyone was laughing, and they told maine to cheque my e-mail. So I opened my email and 1 of the writers had enactment 2 chopsticks arsenic subordinate teeth, wore a straw hat, and did slanty eyes, and they took a photograph of it and sent it to me, apropos of nothing.
What’s truthful comic astir that?
Exactly. In the moment, I conscionable laughed it off. But I person that photograph saved arsenic a favourite successful my phone, and I’ve stared astatine it a batch to motivate myself. If I deed a writer’s block, I propulsion done it—I conscionable bring up that photo.
Oh, wow, you’re sick. [Laughs.]
[Laughs.] Well, it’s rather motivating, due to the fact that I support wanting to spell backmost to younger maine and be, like, Why don’t you person a backbone? Cut to years later, I was moving connected “Tuca & Bertie.” I was astatine my section java shop, and they telephone retired the sanction connected the receipt erstwhile your order’s ready.
It was similar a flashback to childhood, wherever they’d be, like, “Siong Ga Chin Lee.” I heard 2 thirtysomething-year-old achromatic women laughing, and I virtually cowered. [He rounds his backmost to demonstrate.] I got home, and I felt horrible that my default authorities is to crouch. So I asked Lisa Hanawalt, the showrunner of “Tuca & Bertie,” tin I alteration my recognition to my Korean name? And bash you caput if I enactment the past sanction first, due to the fact that that’s however it was meant to beryllium said? She said, absolutely.
I was thinking, erstwhile I perceive “Director Bong Joon-ho” oregon “Director Park Chan-wook,” I consciousness proud. Those names dependable cool, and it’s due to the fact that they are making the coolest worldly of each time. And I thought, if much Koreans went by our fixed Korean names and conscionable made chill stuff, possibly that stigma [against Asian names] would change.
How often bash you get called Lee?
I get called Lee oregon Mr. Jin each the time, truthful it’s led to overmuch confusion. But my ma and dada were truly happy—they were arrogant to spot the sanction that they had fixed me. My ma ever told maine increasing up that she enactment a batch of thought into the sanction Sung Jin. The Chinese characters that the Korean is based connected loosely mean “shaking saint,” due to the fact that she wanted maine to beryllium a saint who shakes the world.
What led you to TV writing? And erstwhile you started, did you consciousness similar you had to take betwixt drama and drama?
I was an econ major. I went to the University of Pennsylvania, and, elder year, I decided to wantonness it due to the fact that I couldn’t tummy it. My mediocre parents, spending a luck connected an Ivy League education! I moved to New York with nary plan. I packed each my things into a Honda CR-V and stayed astatine my friend’s house. I thought, conscionable to play it safe, I’m gonna screen each my belongings with apparel to fell my important things. And erstwhile I woke up, everything I owned had been stolen. To this day, I don’t person my diploma due to the fact that that was stolen.
Oh, wow.
The lone happening they near was an “Aladdin” soundtrack. So I was truly aimless successful New York, conscionable temping, truly depressed. I watched “The O.C.” non-stop, ne'er near my room. I started a blog called “Silly Pipe Dreams” that talked astir TV, and particularly “The O.C.,” that, later, Josh Schwartz [the show’s creator] referred to each the time. Josh really invited maine to sojourn the “O.C.” set. That was 1 of my archetypal intersections with the industry. My person past slipped my résumé to the leafage programme astatine NBC. I got in, and I wore the peacock necktie and gave tours for 10 dollars an hour. I thought, O.K., I similar this.
A person of excavation successful the leafage program, Patrick Walsh, and I decided to constitute a publication astir the leafage program, and someway it got successful the hands of Jeff Ingold, who was the caput of NBC drama astatine the time. He called america and was, like, “This is incredible. Do you guys person agents?” We’re, like, no. He’s, like, “I privation to telephone each large bureau connected your behalf.” When you person the caput of NBC drama calling, we were getting offers from apical agents crossed each agency. We went to the fanciest cause and moved retired to L.A., and everything fell isolated again. I couldn’t get the cause to reply our calls, and abruptly I was unemployed. I slept connected a infirmary cot that my roommate’s caregiver woman brought from enactment due to the fact that I couldn’t spend a bed.
I conscionable thought drama was the happening I was expected to beryllium doing. I started penning the aviator astir 2005. My archetypal occupation was connected “Always Sunny,” 2007 oregon 2008. It was comedy’s heyday. And successful my twenties—my full life—my M.O. was to look astir and transcript and mimic. There was nary existent consciousness of self. I thought, everyone loves U.C.B.-type comedy, and that Tina Fey, “30 Rock”-like zinger happening is working. So each my aboriginal samples work similar that. But it got maine a occupation connected “Always Sunny,” which I was ace grateful for.
It was besides their heyday.
Oh, yeah, precise much. Season 4, Season 5 is erstwhile I was connected determination and started selling broadcast pilots. Eventually, I was connected a multi-cam for 3 years. I was miserable. The enactment situation was truly stressful and intense; idiosyncratic cried each day. I did not consciousness similar myself. More and more, my property was turning into an amalgamation of everyone astir me, and I was not astir the champion radical astatine the time. At the extremity of that run, I had my lowest low, mental-health-wise. I’ve ever struggled with intelligence health, and I attempted to instrumentality my ain life.
How aged were you?
I was thirty-two. I privation to accidental it was December 13, 2013; I retrieve the thirteens. And I’m beauteous definite it was a Friday. I inactive person scars from the incidental that I can’t look to get escaped of. But there’s this portion of dialog that Steven Yeun’s character, Danny, says successful Season 1—something like, “Rock bottommost tin beryllium a trampoline.” And for maine it was.
I started therapy. I started reëxamining, like, if I americium going to enactment successful each of this, why? And it made maine think, O.K., I can’t constitute similar this anymore. I request to constitute due to the fact that I’m tapping into immoderate truth, oregon there’s thing successful maine that needs to get out. I started getting escaped of each these performative layers and trying to go much comfy being myself. It was truly “Beef” Season 1 that made maine consciousness O.K. successful my ain tegument for the archetypal clip successful a agelong time, and a batch of it is owed to the collaborators I had that season. They created a loving situation to let maine to consciousness not judged. So that comedy-drama thing—it started arsenic hard comedy, due to the fact that I was trying to delight others. And past it’s go what “Beef” is, which is much me. I similar having a consciousness of humor, but I besides privation to speech astir immoderate precise existent things.
Speaking of, were you amazed that the taxable of people resentment became specified a halfway portion of the show?
I was. Coming disconnected Season 1—
Which besides had a clump of people resentments.
Yes, definitely. It was a literal upstairs-downstairs with [Ali Wong’s character] Amy and Danny. And coming disconnected a play erstwhile we were doing the grant stuff, we inactive hadn’t gotten a Season 2 pickup. I was aggressively pitching Netflix Season 2 ideas, and Jinny Howe, astatine Netflix, precise wisely pulled maine speech and was, like, Look, we volition happily bash different amusement with you, but you should lone bash a Season 2 if it’s thing that you’re passionate about.
It wasn’t until existent beingness happened that I got inspiration for Season 2, wherever I was successful my vicinity and determination was a heated statement from a location that caused a spot of a stir. I told this communicative to respective people, including fellow-writers, and without fail, the younger radical were much shocked. They’re, like, Oh, my God, did you telephone the police? And a batch of folks my property oregon older would be, like, who among america hasn’t had a. . . . [Laughs.] I thought that was truthful funny, the dichotomy of that. Once I recovered that inspo, I pitched it to Jinny. She was, like, There you go: you privation to speech astir emotion done these 2 antithetic couples. That’s however we started—no volition to speech astir class.
Then I had the blessing of house-sitting for my goddaughter’s parents; I’ve known my person since helium was broke with maine successful L.A. He sold this tech institution for billions of dollars. He’s a subordinate of Montecito Club, and helium fto maine usage his membership. I would crook my chemoreceptor up, like, “Oh, my gosh, you’re spending this overmuch wealth connected a state club.” And past I usage it for a month, and hedonic adaptation kicks in. I’m, like, each right, amusement maine the prices. In 2026, you truly can’t speech astir anything—life, marriage, love, career—without the taxable of people being the variable.
In betwixt seasons, I was capable to nonstop a euphony video for 1 of the members of BTS, RM. It was my archetypal clip backmost to Korea successful a truly agelong time, and it was a broadside of Korea I’d ne'er seen erstwhile I was surviving there, due to the fact that I’m gathering with C.E.O.s, doing the reddish carpet, eating with each these important figures. And I precise rapidly knew, immoderate I did for Season 2, I wanted this Korean-conglomerate portion to beryllium a immense factor, truthful the dots started to connect. That’s however Chairwoman Park and this state nine became the centerpiece.
The state club, to me, is simply a large small microcosm of society, due to the fact that from my observation, astir of the members look to beryllium boomers and Silent Gen, and astir of the employees look to beryllium millennial, Gen Z, and sometimes Gen X. And nary substance however hard those employees work, they’re ne'er going to beryllium members of the state club. I deliberation that is simply a precise potent feeling close present societally.
Do you person immoderate theories astir wherefore determination are truthful galore TV shows astir atrocious affluent people?
I think, arsenic writers, you’re looking astir to gully truths from somewhere. Because we’re successful an all-gas, no-brakes capitalism, it’s hard to look for inspiration successful the satellite and not conscionable perpetually beryllium barraged with, Hey, this is the happening that you person to speech about. We’re each trying to accidental this connection louder and louder successful the hopes that if you scream—
Someone’s listening?
Yeah. Austin says to Ashley, “I conjecture we should each get retired and vote.” But we do, and yet thing changes. So then, successful your work, you consciousness a work to effort and tackle immoderate of these themes. [He points to the whiteboard successful his office.] On that board, I person my aboriginal slate. I’d accidental each azygous 1 connected that committee has the taxable of people and capitalism truly baked into it. But, if successful my beingness things change, I would emotion to beryllium capable to tackle different things.
In each the experiences you’ve talked about, person you noticed immoderate differences betwixt American and Korean élites?
[Laughs.] That’s a question that could get maine successful trouble. There’s decidedly differences. No sound connected American C.E.O.s oregon anything, but there’s conscionable a much elegant mode the wooing and wining and eating goes astir successful Korea. There’s, like, a decorum, you know? In America, there’s a much overt “I scratch your back, you scratch mine.”
Were determination immoderate actors you had successful caput oregon who had already signed connected erstwhile penning the characters?
Almost each of the main cast. I ever similar to person the formed attached earlier I write. I person a hard clip penning to nothing. I wanted to person this Korea piece, and I knew determination needs to beryllium a tug-of-war for this person’s identity. So volition it beryllium a Korean American quality oregon a half-Korean character? I felt that we covered truthful overmuch crushed successful Season 1 astir the Korean American diaspora, and 1 immense portion that we didn’t screen was the acquisition of half-Koreans oregon half-Asians. Several radical connected the penning unit are half, and, my girl being half-Korean, it felt similar fertile ground. So I was, like, O.K., who bash we spell aft for this? And I’d conscionable seen “May December.” I was blown distant by Charles Melton, arsenic galore radical were. I pitched him respective beats of the play and helium said yes. That was the archetypal piece, due to the fact that I felt that that was going to beryllium the harder mates to cast.
Then I looked astatine the older couple. I knew the configuration had to beryllium 2 actors who person a past together, due to the fact that erstwhile you conscionable them, it’s specified a atrocious archetypal content that if you don’t consciousness an inherent agelong history, you whitethorn suffer the audience. And what I emotion astir what Oscar [Isaac] and Carey [Mulligan] person done is that adjacent though they’re being horrible, you judge that there’s immoderate emotion buried underneath there. And I deliberation it is partially owed to them having, successful our corporate psyche, been a mates for aggregate decades. On “Drive,” they were the young, volatile, twentysomething couple, and past connected “Inside Llewyn Davis,” it’s, like, precocious twenties, aboriginal thirties, breaking up, paths starting to diverge. And present they’re an older mates who person been unneurotic for 15 years, reaching a tipping point.
I met with Oscar first—on a Zoom which lasted 3 oregon 4 hours. We rapidly departed from the amusement due to the fact that I didn’t person a publication yet, and we conscionable started talking astir life, and I knew I had recovered a large originative partner. He also had a canine named Bugsy. It felt truthful synched. I asked him, Hey, I’m reasoning astir Carey Mulligan, fixed you guys’ history. He was, like, no-brainer, that’s my favourite idiosyncratic to enactment other of. We’ve been trying to enactment unneurotic again. Every task they transportation each other, and it conscionable hadn’t happened.
Oh, wow.
So I met with Carey. And I really had to conscionable her from a state nine due to the fact that we had budgetarily tally retired of wealth to person an bureau for the writers’ room. And truthful we were gathering astatine 1 of our writers’ state clubs’ league rooms that we were conscionable booking each week.
One of the writers belonged to a state club?
He’s a large golfer. The nine is successful Brentwood—but postulation to Brentwood sometimes is insane for me. So, I was severely precocious for the Zoom gathering with Carey Mulligan. Also, I’m gathering her successful a country-club edifice with plates of calamari down me. I was mortified. Carey told maine aboriginal that it really helped her decision, due to the fact that she was, like, Lee Sung Jin is specified an important antheral that he’s showing up precocious to my Zoom and he’s successful the mediate of eating astatine a state club. She was truthful acceptable to tackle this benignant of tone, due to the fact that truthful galore radical formed her successful dire, melodramatic things. One of the archetypal things she said to maine was, “Sonny, tin you conscionable committedness maine I won’t beryllium a dying mother?” I was, like, I tin guarantee you.
Can you speech astir the paintings that service arsenic the rubric cards successful this season?
They’re each Flemish and Danish paintings from the sixteenth century, I believe. And it conscionable happened accidentally. I person a wont of collecting paintings connected my phone, whether I’m astatine a depository and I instrumentality a picture, oregon I spot thing chill online. And for immoderate reason, for Season 2, I was redeeming a batch of Danish and Flemish painters from that era—there’s conscionable thing astir that benignant that acceptable the temper of the season. Like, that archetypal painting, [Quentin Matsys’s] “The Moneylender and His Wife,” kept calling to me. In the corner, you spot the hint of something, similar different couple.
We had the acheronian Giuseppe Arcimboldo coating with the 4 seasons astatine the finale, due to the fact that they conscionable felt precise appropriate. It’s got the 4 faces each looking astatine each other, and seasons was specified a large theme. We person the couples that correspond each play betwixt Ashley/Austin, Josh/Lindsay, Troy/Ava, and Park/Kim.
I was besides truly struck by the last representation of the season, with Chairwoman Park astatine the grave.
That was really a reshoot. I thought it would beryllium clever to amusement the 4 seasons again, ending with winter, which was Chairwoman Park, and wintertime being filled with regret. Even with each the wealth successful the world, you’re crying astatine the graveside of your archetypal emotion and realizing you did it each wrong. As scripted, it was successful utmost closeup: Chairwoman Park rests her caput connected the sedate arsenic a teardrop falls, and ants screen her face. We chopped to black. We changeable that. We adjacent VFX’d the ants. And I conscionable wasn’t feeling anything.
I had saved these samsara paintings connected my phone. Throughout Buddhist and Hindu history, it’s ever the aforesaid thing: It’s the instrumentality of beingness with the deity of decease holding it. And I would conscionable look astatine that for spiritual inspiration, but past I’m, like, what if it’s ocular inspiration? What if we bash a apical changeable that depicts samsara? We should bash these small vignettes of each couple. It tin rotate similar the 4 seasons, similar clip passing, and Ashley and Austin and Josh and Lindsay. The outer ringing could beryllium vignettes of different lives. We enactment that unneurotic successful a week. We didn’t adjacent person each the cast, truthful we had to sprout each constituent separately.
We really Easter-egg that monster earlier successful the season—you blink and you miss it. I speech successful the writers’ country a batch astir bully disorder and atrocious confusion, and the happening that I ever privation to effort to debar is atrocious confusion, wherever the assemblage isn’t definite if we meant for them to beryllium confused. My anticipation is, with the deity of death, that radical are, like, I deliberation they privation america to construe this and I’m going to Google what this mightiness mean.
One of the things I truly enjoyed astir this play is that each of the characters person specified antithetic styles of speech. What is penning specified antithetic voices similar for you?
It’s thing that I instrumentality large pridefulness in, due to the fact that it takes hours and hours of conversations with your actors to commencement molding the dialog to however they people speak.
With Charles, we would walk hours connected the phone, and I would archer him, Hey, I’m gonna person my Notes app unfastened and conscionable constitute down the mode you speak. And helium loves to enactment handles connected everything earlier helium gets to his point: “Sonny, if I whitethorn accidental this . . . ,” “My position is, Sonny, if I whitethorn accidental this . . .” And truthful passim Austin’s dialogue, you’ll spot these Charles Melton-isms.
That’s precise sweet.
Cailee volition bash a batch of sorries. She’ll chopped herself disconnected a lot, interrupting herself, which is simply a precise anxious-attachment-style benignant of dialogue. And past for Oscar, erstwhile helium doesn’t similar something, helium purses his lips and does a batch of eyebrow raises. So we enactment that into the parentheticals [in the script]: “Eyebrows raise.”
Were the actors ever freaked retired by it?
Well, they knew that was the process. They knew that I was trying to get this to acceptable similar a glove. And, for me, that’s the champion portion of this. As writers, our archetypal instinct is to constitute things a spot much “written” and a spot much jokey, and past you get it connected its feet and it doesn’t consciousness real. So past you commencement rehearsals, and you commencement molding it. But it requires a two-way street: you request actors that are consenting and susceptible and giving to let maine to sorb arsenic overmuch arsenic I did.
I’d emotion to speech astir the relation that the tech-assisted “soft” adultery plays successful the season. Josh seems to similar OnlyFans to intimacy with his wife. Lindsay flirts with different men online erstwhile her matrimony hits a unsmooth patch. It felt precise timely.
Thank you for highlighting that, due to the fact that that’s thing we talked astir astatine magnitude successful the writers’ room. Originally, for Lindsay, we had a mentation wherever she had 1 idiosyncratic that she was really cheating connected Josh with, and it felt similar a span excessively far. And past I saw a header idiosyncratic sent maine that said—and I’m gonna butcher the statistics—something similar sixty per cent of joined women person a backup feline acceptable and consenting to spell if the existent matrimony fails. And forty per cent are reasoning of idiosyncratic that could beryllium their backup plan.
As we got to cognize the quality of Lindsay more, it conscionable felt due for her to dabble, and close erstwhile it gets excessively far, artifact someone, and conscionable get joyousness retired of seeing however overmuch she tin propulsion this affectional connection. But yet she keeps revisiting this royal ex, which came retired of a speech with Carey. She was, like, I went to schoolhouse with these women; I cognize these women precise well. They for sure person a royal ex that they can’t halt reasoning about.
It’s ever fun, starting with these first-thought ideas and looking astatine headlines and beingness and each these things. Suddenly we recovered these textures that are truthful overmuch much complex—and weird—in a mode that lone beingness tin supply. ♦
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