Which is crazy, because I was literally thinking this morning that we never added Beef Season One into Dramatica yet and was going to ask if anyone was up for going over it again.
It looks like there was quite a lot that everyone went over…if anyone was a part of that discussion who remembers how it all turned out, fill us in – otherwise I’ll have Narrova take a look at it and see if there was some kind of determinant of the Storyform.
Update: couldn’t wait…here’s the summary of the discussion over there:
Previous Initial Thoughts on Beef Season One Storyform
Summary
The group repeatedly struggles to pin down MC vs IC; Danny and Amy feel like they trade MC
weight, with several noting a possible substory (Danny/Paul) that muddies the main MC/IC read.
Two main OS domain camps emerge: Mind (fixed attitudes/impulsivity/“stuck”) vs Psychology
(scheming/roles/Conceptualizing/Being). Physics is mentioned but mostly as secondary behaviors.
Several people argue the core argument is about rage/depression, self-worth, and how to cope:
Danny’s “work/earn to fix inner turmoil” vs Amy’s “success doesn’t satisfy.”
Outcome/Judgment gets the most specific proposal: Failure/Good is explicitly asserted, with the
finale used as support (they “fail” externally but achieve some internal release/connection).
Amy as Changed character gains traction late (mlucas + Levi57 agree), with the caveat that
Danny shows isolated “change” moments that might belong to a substory.
Relationship Story is argued in multiple directions (Obtaining, Understanding, Progress,
Universe/Status), but no shared consensus.
Determined aspects?
No hard consensus on MC/IC, OS domain, or RS domain.
The closest thing to a “landing” is a tentative leaning toward Amy as Changed and a proposed
Failure/Good ending, but neither is unanimously agreed.
Overall: the discussion does not settle a definitive Storyform; it remains exploratory with
multiple competing fits.
Hey Jim, I don’t remember the show that well anymore, though at the time I felt that there was definitely a storyform.
One thing to point out, I think your image and text at the top is about a different Beef show (possibly also on Netflix?). The Discord discussion was about this one:
Oh sorry, I didn’t realize Season 2 was going to look so different! I guess it’s completely different characters? (EDIT: yes, confirmed with a quick google search haha)
It’s been a while (and I can’t seem to reach that Discord thread for whatever reason).
Thinking back though, I still have a couple of strong opinions.
It’s OS Psychology. Even the title supports this. The whole thing is about people being pissed off at and manipulating each other. I have trouble seeing how Mind would fit here (and would be unusual for a show like this anyway).
Danny is the MC of the series storyform (though Amy may be the MC in a substory episode). Two pieces of evidence: 1) we see him first (Amy is initially just a faceless driver who flips him off) and 2) There is an iconic finger-wagging scene (Amy wags her finger at him in the hotel), which is a very “IC” moment in my opinion.
Thanks so much for this @Lakis - not sure about the Discord thing - i summarized everything above, but this definitely helps.
It’s been a long time for me as well, but I think it would be helpful to watch again. Many writers are reaching out to us for info on planning how serialized stories (seasons, episodes, etc.) so the more examples the better (Plus, this was so good).
And yes, looks like new season is all new cast, which would make sense as I’m not sure there was more story to tell given how good that first season was.
