Lee Sung Jin (; born October 2, 1981), also known as Sonny Lee, is a South 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. He also contributed to the script of the 2025 Marvel Studios superhero film Thunderbolts*, and is developing a new X-Men film for the studio with frequent collaborators Jake Schreier and Joanna Calo.
Early life and education Lee Sung Jin was born in South Korea in 1981. His family moved frequently in his youth; he moved to the United States when he was nine months old and returned to South Korea for third through fifth grade. In sixth grade he moved from Seoul to Minnesota, United States. He also lived in Illinois, Louisiana, Iowa, and Texas. He recalls it as “a horrible time to have a name no one can pronounce" and chose to go by "Sonny" instead.
Lee attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he sang in an a cappella group. He graduated in 2003 with a degree in economics.
Career After graduating from college, Lee moved to Los Angeles and worked a variety of part-time jobs while writing scripts. He interned at the record label Barsuk Records. He wrote for the series Undone, Tuca & Bertie, Dave, and Silicon Valley. In 2008, he worked as a staff writer and executive story editor for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
He was inspired to create Beef by a road-rage confrontation with a middle-aged white man in Los Angeles. "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. 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.
In August 2023, he visited South Korea to speak at a conference on the creation of films. He said he had not been to South Korea for around 25 years, since his childhood.
In November 2023, Variety reported that Lee had signed a multiyear deal to produce content for Netflix.
In 2023, Lee was reported to have joined the 2025 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thunderbolts* as a writer, saying in an interview, "I'm rewriting it." In a later interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he said he was "working off an existing script from Eric Pearson and I did my pass on it" before stepping away from the project and handing it off to Joanna Calo, who worked with him on Beef. The film credits the screenplay to Pearson and Calo, with the story by Pearson.Schreier, Jake (director) (April 22, 2025). Thunderbolts* (motion picture). United States: Marvel Studios. According to the Writers Guild of America West, Lee received credit for "Additional Literary Material".
Lee wrote, directed, and produced the video for BTS leader RM's "Come Back to Me", a prerelease track from his second solo album, Right Place, Wrong Person, released in 2024.
In April 2026, it was confirmed by Jake Schreier that Lee Sung Jin was co-writing the screenplay for the upcoming X-Men film being produced by Marvel Studios alongside Joanna Calo after the pair previously worked on Thunderbolts*, revising the original script by Michael Lesslie. The same month, he renewed his overall deal with Netflix. In an interview, Lee Sung Jin said he is writing and directing a film with Steven Yeun that he describes as “There Will Be Blood meets The Informant meets Tarkovsky’s Stalker.”
Personal life Lee lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Caty Solone, and three dogs. He plays the violin, guitar, and piano.
Selected filmography Film + Year Title Director Writer Notes 2025 Thunderbolts* Additional Literary Material
Television +YearTitleCreator Director WriterExecutive producerNotes2007–2008Rob & Big24 episodes2008–2009It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia26 episodes2010MothmanTV movie; co-screenwriter2010–20142 Broke Girls7 episodes2015Silicon ValleyEpisode: "Server Space"2016The Real O'NealsEpisode: "The Real Book Club"2018Tuca & Bertie2 episodes2021Dave2 episodes2023–presentBeefAlso showrunner; director: "Figures of Light"
Music videos +YearArtistTitleDirectorWriterProducerNotes2024RM"Come Back to Me"
Awards and nominations Award Date of ceremony Category Work Result Primetime Emmy Awards September 20, 2015 Outstanding Comedy Series Silicon Valley January 15, 2024 Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Beef (episode "The Birds Don't Sing, They Screech in Pain") Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie Beef (episode "Figures of Light") Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series Beef Golden Globe Awards January 7, 2024 Best Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television Critics Choice Awards January 14, 2024 Best Limited Series AFI Awards January 5, 2024 Television Programs of the Year Television Academy Honors May 30, 2024 Limited Series Astra TV Awards January 8, 2024 Best Streaming Limited Series Best Writing in a Limited Series or Streaming Movie Beef (episode "The Birds Don't Sing, They Screech in Pain") Best Directing in a Limited Series or Streaming Movie Beef (episode "Figures of Light") Television Critics Association Awards August 7, 2023 Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries or Specials Beef People's Choice Awards February 18, 2024 The Bingeworthy Show of the Year The Unforgettable Gala December 16, 2023 Writer of the Year Gold House May 29, 2024 Gold Icon Award IndieWire Honors December 7, 2023 Visionary Award in Television BAFTA Television Awards May 12, 2024 International Gotham Awards November 27, 2023 Breakthrough Series (Under 40 minutes) NAACP Image Awards March 16, 2024 Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series Film Independent Spirit Awards February 25, 2024 Best New Scripted Series PGA Awards February 25, 2024 Outstanding Producer of Limited or Anthology Series Television WGA Awards February 13, 2016 Television: Comedy Series Silicon Valley March 5, 2023 Television: Episodic Comedy Dave (episode "Enlightened Dave") April 14, 2024 Limited Series Beef
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