Netflix does live shows now, didn’t you know? So far, though, it’s focussed all its energy and money, not on live sports streaming, but on frankly odd spectacles bound to attract eyeballs. There was the Netflix Cup, the Slam, and the mockery of a boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson lined up for November, and now… there’s no way around this – Netflix is putting on a live hotdog-eating competition.
We won’t pretend we’re not above it all. When the big day comes in September, we’ll be grabbing the popcorn and plopping ourselves down on the couch to see some people go nuts over a plate (or plates) of hotdogs. This isn’t your average run-of-the-mill competition, either. There’s some history here that could make for some exciting, if brain-rotting television.
The dog days aren’t over
A rivalry simmering for 15 years.
CHESTNUT VS. KOBAYASHI: UNFINISHED BEEF — the ultimate hot dog eating competition — will air LIVE on Netflix, Monday, September 2. pic.twitter.com/MeVQP1lQuS
— Netflix (@netflix) June 12, 2024
Putting aside the fact that Unfinished Beef is an excellent name for this very specific genre of television, the competition is a one-on-one style event that pits two legends of the game — Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi — against one another to decide once and for all who the true glizzy-chomper is.
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Chestnut is the current world record-holder in the field, putting away 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes, while Kobayashi holds ten different records in the competitive eating scene after being banned from Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest in 2010, despite winning the thing for six years straight.
The two haven’t thrown down the gauntlet against each other ever since. The streamer is here to finally settle the beef that’s been brewing for the last fifteen years on 2 September 2024. The exact time and venue have yet to be announced, though Netflix will do so closer to the time.