Netflix has won the rights to the new Steven Yuen (The Walking Dead) and Ali Wong (Tuca & Bertie) comedy-drama series Beef, according to Deadline. The announcement comes after the pitch recently caused an auction frenzy among streamers like Netflix, Amazon, FX and Apple.
A short synopsis of the 10-episode half-hour series has also emerged. Beef will follow “two people who let a road rage incident burrow into their minds and slowly consume their every thought and action,” according to Deadline.
As previously announced, Lee Sung Jin, whose credits include FXX’s comedy series Dave, will serve as the creator, showrunner, and executive producer. The series will be produced by Wong and Yeun, through his company Universal Remote, along with indie producer A24, which recently released Yeun’s Oscar-nominated film Minari.
“Ali Wong, Steven Yeun, A24 and Netflix. It’s a dream team, and I’m honored to be collaborating with them,” said Lee via Variety. “I’m also grateful to the guy who yelled at me in traffic three years ago. I did not let it go, and now we have a show.”
Yeun received a best actor Oscar nomination this year for his work in Minari. He is the first Asian American actor to be nominated in the category. Since starring in AMC’s zombie hit The Walking Dead from 2010-2016, he has appeared in the Cannes Festival favorite Burning and Bong Jong Ho’s Okja.
Wong is currently starring in ABC’s American Housewife. She co-wrote and starred in Netflix’s Always Be My Maybe and voiced the lead character Tuca & Bertie. Two of her stand-up comedy specials, Cobra Baby and Hard Knock Wife, were released on Netflix.
“We are incredibly excited to collaborate with Lee Sung Jin and help bring this rich series to life along with the inimitable Steven Yeun and Ali Wong,” said Jinny Howe, Netflix’s VP of drama development, original series, via Variety. “Sung Jin has created a bold and at times outrageous world. It is an honest and powerful character study of two people who go about searching for connection in the unlikeliest of ways.”