Netflix’s “Beef” made history last weekend at the 81st Annual Golden Globes. The A24 production was awarded Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television, making it the first show created by and starring Asian Americans to win in its category.
During his acceptance speech director and writer Lee Sung Jin stated, “Our show is actually based on a real road rage incident that actually happened to me, so I’d be remiss not to thank that driver,” as the audience burst in laughter at the remark, Lee continued, “Sir, I hope you honk and yell and inspire others for years to come.”
This was not the only historic portion of the night, as leading to the exciting victory co-stars Steven Yeun and comedian Ali Wong also won globes for their performance, bringing the tally to 3 wins; it was their first nomination and win respectively. The best actress wing for Wong was the first given for the category to an actress of Asian descent, and in the case of Yeun it was the second time in history too.
Wong thanked her co-star Yeun, the cast,
and the crew, and said that the friendships she made on set “will always be the best thing that came out of ‘Beef.’”
“I’m just so thankful. I am just the recipient of a long line of compassionate love and protection and goodwill so, I appreciate this,” Steven Yeun made the heartfelt statement during his acceptance speech.
In 2024 it is hard to believe we can still have so many “firsts”, it speaks to a neverending progress we must strive for across all industries, but having these public acknowledgments makes it visible to audiences worldwide, and little by little normalizes what should have always been common place.
