Netflix has confirmed a second season of Beef, with showrunner Lee Sung Jin and A24 producing. The series recently announced their new expanded cast for the second season. Oscar Isaac, Charles Melton, Carey Mulligan, Youn Yuh-jung, and Cailee Spaeny are joining the show.
Isaac and Mulligan are partnered up again for Beef after working on the 2013 film Inside Llewyn Davis. Melton joined the Beef cast after his widely praised performance in Netflix’s May December, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination.
Spaeny has acted in Civil War, Alien: Romulus, and Priscilla as the titular character, the latter of which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. Youn Yuh-jung gained international recognition for her role as Soon-ja in Minari. She was the first Korean actor to win an Academy Award.
Season two will involve a different premise than the first, exploring the aftermath of a young couple witnessing a fight between their boss and his wife. Like the first season, this inciting show of rage throws the main characters into a slew of consequences. The show will largely revolve around a country club and its Korean billionaire owner.
Instead of 10 episodes, the second season will only have eight, each around 30 minutes in length. Lee Sung Jin is continuing his role as showrunner and executive producer. Jake Schreier, director of Paper Towns, is also an executive producer. Lee and Schreier are working together on the upcoming Marvel film, Thunderbolts.
Stars of season one, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, are also executive producers for the second season. Season one of Beef depicted a road rage incident between the main protagonists, Danny Cho and Amy Lau, played by Yeun and Wong, respectively, that slowly (not that slowly TBH) descends to all-out madness, consuming their lives.
Funnily enough, the first season’s inciting incident is derived from Lee’s real road rage experience, which he revealed at a South by Southwest panel. A car honked and cursed at Lee, then drove away. Honestly, that tracks for Los Angeles! Lee said, “For some reason, on that day, I was like, ‘I’m going to follow you.” The real situation definitely did not progress or end like the show, but nevertheless inspired Lee to create the story.
You can watch the first season on Netflix to catch up before season 2.