Lee Sung Jin (Korean: 이성진; born October 2, 1981), also known as Sonny Lee,[1] is a Korean-American screenwriter and director. He is best known for creating the Netflix series Beef, for which he received the 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards for directing and writing for a limited series.[2]
Early life and education
Lee Sung Jin was born in South Korea in 1981.[3] His family moved frequently in his youth; he moved to the United States when he was nine months old, and returned to Korea for third through fifth grade.[4] He then relocated from Seoul to Minnesota, United States, in sixth grade.[5] He also lived in Illinois, Louisiana, Iowa, and Texas.[6] He recalls it being “a horrible time to have a name no one can pronounce" and chose to go by "Sonny" instead.[7]
He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he sang in an a cappella group.[8] He graduated in 2003 with a degree in economics.[9][4]
Career
After graduating from college, Lee moved to Los Angeles and worked a variety of part-time jobs while writing scripts.[4] He interned at the record label Barsuk Records.[8] He wrote for the series Undone, Tuca & Bertie, Dave, and Silicon Valley.[7] In 2008, he worked as a staff write and executive story editor for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.[4]
He was inspired to create Beef by a road rage confrontation he experienced with a middle-aged white man in Los Angeles.[10] "I thought there was something interesting there, how we’re all locked in our subjective world views, and we go around projecting a lot on the other person and not really seeing things for what they are," he said of the incident.[11] He also served as director, executive producer and showrunner on the series, forced to remotely direct scenes for the season finale "with my face on an iPad" because of a COVID-19 infection.[1][12]
In August 2023, he visited South Korea to speak at a conference on the creation of films. During this, he said that he had not been back to South Korea for around 25 years, since his childhood.[3]
In November 2023, Variety reported that Lee had signed a multiyear deal to produce content for Netflix.[1]
Lee is the screenwriter for the 2025 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thunderbolts*, which is his first credit for screenwriting on a produced film.[13]
Lee wrote, directed and produced the music video for BTS leader RM's "Come Back to Me," a prerelease track from his second solo album Right Place, Wrong Person, released May 2024.[14]
Personal life
Lee lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Caty Solone, and three dogs.[6][15][16] He plays the violin, guitar and piano.[9]
Selected filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Thunderbolts* | No | Yes | Co-screenwriter |
Television
| Year | Title | Creator | Director | Writer | Executive producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–2008 | Rob & Big | No | No | Consultant Writer | No | 24 episodes |
| 2008–2009 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | No | No | Executive Story Editor | No | 26 episodes |
| 2010 | Mothman | Yes | No | Yes | No | Co-screenwriter |
| 2010–2014 | 2 Broke Girls | No | No | Yes | No | 7 episodes |
| 2015 | Silicon Valley | No | No | Yes | No | Episode: "Server Space" |
| 2016 | The Real O'Neals | No | No | Yes | No | Episode: "The Real Book Club" |
| 2018 | Tuca & Bertie | No | No | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Dave | No | No | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 2023–present | Beef | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also showrunner; directed episode: "Figures of Light" |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primetime Emmy Awards | ||||
| 2015 | Outstanding Comedy Series | Silicon Valley | Nominated | [17] |
| 2023 | Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or movie | Beef (episode "The Birds Don't Sing, They Screech in Pain") | Won | [18] |
| Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | Beef (episode "Figures of Light") | Won | [18] | |
| Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series | Beef | Won | [18] | |
References
- ^ a b c Otterson, Joe (2023-11-21). "'Beef' Creator Lee Sung Jin Signs Netflix Overall Deal". Variety. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ Bergeson, Samantha (2024-01-16). "'Beef' Wins Outstanding Limited Series Emmy". IndieWire. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ a b 최, 민지 (2023-08-16). "넷플릭스 '성난 사람들' 이성진 감독 "한국적인 것, 있는 그대로 보여주면 통한다"". 경향신문 (in Korean). Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ a b c d "미드 '성난 사람들' 이성진… "한국계 정체성 드러내자 오히려 인기"". 조선일보 (in Korean). 2023-08-16. Retrieved 2024-02-09.
- ^ Rose, Lacey (2023-08-16). "'Beef' Creator Lee Sung Jin on his Original Ending, "Life-Affirming" Feedback and Season 2 Plan". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ a b Cardenas, Cat (2023-04-13). "'Beef' Creator Lee Sung Jin On the Show's Final Scene and Whether There Should Be a Season Two". GQ. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ a b MacDonald, Joan. "How Rage Drives Revenge In Lee Sung Jin's Netflix Dramedy 'Beef'". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ a b "S1:E2 Lee Sung Jin and the Octopus". The Smith Society Podcast. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ a b Paik, Sarah (2023-05-18). "Lee Sung Jin's "Beef" Destroys the Model Minority Myth". Best of Korea. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ Blake, Meredith (2023-04-05). "In 'Beef,' Ali Wong and Steven Yeun explore the underpinnings of road rage". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ Ito, Robert (2023-04-01). "In 'Beef,' Road Rage Is Only the Beginning". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ Wang, Jessica (2023-04-10). "'Beef' creator on the 'deaths everywhere' in original script". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
- ^ Seo, Rachel (2023-03-29). "Marvel's 'Thunderbolts' Adds 'Beef' Creator Lee Sung Jin as Writer (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ Shim, Sun-ah (2024-05-07). "BTS' RM to prerelease 'Come Back to Me,' music video directed by Lee Jung-jin of 'Beef'". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 2024-05-08.
- ^ Phillips, Zoe G. (2024-01-16). "'Beef' Creator Humbled By "Life Affirming" Response in Limited Series Emmy Win". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
In conclusion, he quipped: 'everything I do is for my three dogs, so the Federal Drug Administration, if you could please fast track that canine anti-aging pill, that would be so lovely.'
- ^ Grindell, Samantha. "The best-dressed couples at the 2024 Emmy Awards". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
- ^ "Outstanding Comedy Series 2015 - Nominees & Winners". Television Academy. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ^ a b c "Emmy Awards: Full list of winners". Yahoo Entertainment. 2024-05-02. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
External links
- Lee Sung Jin at IMDb