Netflix has given fans the first official look at the next chapter of its award-winning series. Beef Season 2 will premiere on April 16, introducing a completely new story and a star-studded cast led by Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan. The new images reveal a shift from the road rage of Season 1 to the tense, polished world of an elite country club, where a single argument spirals into a web of ambition and manipulation.
The New Plot and Setting for Season 2
The second season moves the action to a high-end Southern California country club. The story focuses on two couples whose lives clash.
A Gen Z couple, Ashley Miller (Cailee Spaeny) and Austin Davis (Charles Melton), work as lower-level staff at the club. They accidentally witness a volatile fight between their boss, General Manager Joshua Martรญn (Oscar Isaac), and his wife, Lindsay Crane-Martรญn (Carey Mulligan). This moment triggers the season’s conflict, as the younger couple uses their knowledge of the argument to try and advance their own positions.
The ensuing drama involves “chess moves of favors and coercion” as both couples seek the approval of the club’s powerful owner, Chairwoman Park, played by Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung. Chairwoman Park is dealing with her own troubles involving her second husband, Dr. Kim, portrayed by Song Kang-ho of Parasite fame.
Creator Lee Sung Jin explained that the initial idea came from a personal experience. “That incident, which inspired the inciting moment of season two’s premiere, led Lee to think about how different generations approach love and relationships,”.
“I started ruminating a lot on what love means to those different generations,” says Lee. “And when you think about time passing, you realize that in your youth, you had all these expectations and promises to yourselves of never becoming like the older generation. But we’re faced with such similar hurdles. Are we going to repeat the same mistakes as those that came before?”
Meet the Star-Studded Cast of Beef Season 2
This season features an entirely new ensemble, following the anthology format. The central couples are played by two pairs of acclaimed actors.
Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan play Josh and Lindsay, the millennial couple whose crumbling marriage sets the story in motion. This marks their third on-screen collaboration after Drive and Inside Llewyn Davis. Lee Sung Jin noted that their history brings depth to their performances. “Their frequent collaborations ‘bring an inherent backstory that makes you believe them a little bit more,’”.
Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny play the younger couple, Austin and Ashley. Melton’s character is a former athlete and aspiring physical therapist, while Spaeny’s Ashley is his newly-engaged partner. Lee praised Spaeny’s range, saying, “The more I got to know her, I just thought, ‘Oh, wow, there is range here that hasn’t been showcased.’ And so then I started writing to that”.
The supporting cast adds major prestige:
- Youn Yuh-jung as Chairwoman Park, the billionaire owner of the country club.
- Song Kang-ho as Dr. Kim, her second husband.
- William Fichtner plays Troy, with Mikaela Hoover as Ava.
- K-pop star BM makes his acting debut in the recurring role of Woosh.
Behind the Scenes and Creator Insights
The series will run for eight 30-minute episodes, all releasing on Netflix on April 16. Creator and showrunner Lee Sung Jin returns, with Steven Yeun and Ali Wong remaining as executive producers alongside the new main cast.
Lee shared that his entry into exclusive social circles influenced the season’s setting. After the show’s success, he found himself meeting powerful figures. “Being courted by these very, very powerful Korean men and women, it made me realize how tempting that world can be. You start to feel important,” he said. “I didn’t like feeling that, but I thought it was juicy”.
He also addressed the casting of Korean actors like Youn Yuh-jung and Song Kang-ho, noting it was always part of the plan. “It was funny to see some of the online reactions that either that I was abandoning Korean culture, or that I had only put Koreans back into season two after reading the reaction. But that was never the case. I had always had that intention”.
The first-look photos hint at the season’s tone. They show Charles Melton lifting weights, Cailee Spaeny looking concerned on a hospital bed, Oscar Isaac driving a golf cart, and Carey Mulligan in a scene where her character considers a facelift.
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How Season 2 Continues the Beef Anthology Format
Beef is confirmed as an anthology series, meaning each season tells a new, self-contained story with different characters. The first season followed strangers Danny Cho (Steven Yeun) and Amy Lau (Ali Wong) whose feud began with a road rage incident. It premiered in April 2023 and went on to win eight Emmy Awards.
Lee Sung Jin has previously mentioned he has ideas for more seasons. “The intention with BEEF was always to have it as an anthology,” he stated. He described the difference in tension between the seasons, noting, “We wanted the feeling of this season’s beef to be a bit more passive-aggressive. It’s more about the internal repression of rage that you see in the workplace”.
The new season explores a different kind of resentment. Instead of two strangers, the conflict involves two couples who are socially and professionally connected. Lee teased the dynamic between them: “Austin and Ashley think all they need is each other and the beach. So when we meet them, they are thrust into intersecting with our millennial couple. It’ll be interesting to see with these two how they react to life’s first real struggles”.
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