Amy's Luxurious California Home in Netflix's 'Beef' Is Officially the Coldest Home on TV
By now, you’ve likely viewed all 10 episodes of Netflix’s Beef. The dark comedy—created by Lee Sung Jin and produced by A24—follows two strangers who get into a road rage incident. It sets them on a path of mutual destruction and connects them over existential dread. Each character’s personality and inner conflicts materialize through their homes' interiors.
At first glance, Amy Lau’s (played by Ali Wong) Southern California mansion boasts organic modern interiors that any minimalist would adore. However, the vertical slatted dividers and concrete-colored plaster walls "give a kind of darkness and coldness to the home—a feeling like she’s trapped in her dream in a way, or trapped in the life that she made," says production designer Grace Yun in a press brief.
Most of the show was shot on location in the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles’s Koreatown, location manager Michael Percival told Tudum. While the exterior of Amy’s house is a home in California’s West Valley, the interiors were shot on a soundstage to capture the specific look: an open floor plan, made up of architectural features and furniture with straight lines, that actually feels confined. On the outside, she attempts to come off as buttoned-up and thriving, while inside she’s grappling with happiness and the decisions she’s made.
Danny Cho’s (played by Steven Yeun) apartment—portrayed as a complex in the San Fernando Valley—offers a grittier, cluttered look compared to Amy’s sleek life backdrop. It’s designed to be “a collage of tiny failures,” according to Yun, who explained in the brief: “Danny’s constantly in this transient space of struggling and never getting a win. He’s had such aspirations for his life and so many dreams for himself and his family, and his apartment shows that he probably moved in thinking, ‘Oh, I’ll just be here for five years, develop my business, then I’m going to move out,’ but he’s never really been able to get out of that stage.”
While not hoarder-level crowded, Danny’s apartment shows off a scarcity mentality. “He has construction materials from past jobs piling up and a mix of different furniture—and so he’s tripping over everything, all these things he feels are necessary for his life that he can’t let go of,” Yun added.
The apartment is also filled with meaningful tokens, at the suggestion of Yeun, like fortunes from fortune cookies and sayings on tea bags that Danny would take as a sign of some sort. They're displayed on a column in his kitchen.
Since Amy and Danny's deepest battles emerge through their home designs, we can only imagine what residences they'll take up next after what they've been through. One thing's for sure: They both could use fresh scenery.
You love production design. So do we. Let’s obsess over it together.
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