Lee Sung Jin wasn’t sure whether he wanted to write another season of “Beef,” the bold Netflix dramedy about two strangers involved in a road-rage incident that escalates into an elaborate feud. The 2023 show, which was praised for its clever writing and direction, won eight Emmys — including best limited series, outstanding writing and directing for Lee and lead-actor trophies for Ali Wong and Steven Yeun. It felt like they had captured lightning in a bottle. Would it even be worth trying again?
Lee felt the wheels begin to turn when he agreed to house-sit for a friend with a membership to a Montecito country club. His curiosity was piqued by the tension underlying interactions between the club’s members and its younger employees, who seemed envious of the luxuriating Gen Xers and boomers.
“I thought, ‘What a great metaphor for society today,’” Lee said. “Because no matter how hard those employees work, they’ll never get to be members. And I think that’s how a lot of people are feeling in 2026.”
The second season of “Beef,” which premiered in April, expands on themes tackled by its predecessor. Rather than examining how loneliness drives two individuals to behave erratically, it focuses on how loss of identity in relationships can yield the same result.
The new episodes engage with socioeconomic anxieties, but they reach for nuance amid Hollywood’s eat-the-rich obsession by exploring strife between working-class and middle-class strivers. Lee packs layers of conflict into a delicious binge-watch.
All the havoc begins when a pair of struggling club employees, engaged Gen Z couple Austin (Charles Melton) and Ashley (Cailee Spaeny), witness an explosive argument between their boss, middle-aged club manager Joshua (Oscar Isaac), and his interior-decorator wife, Lindsay (Carey Mulligan). Austin and Ashley want more from life, so they demand better-paying jobs while blackmailing Joshua with an incriminating video of the fight. It’s a foolproof plan — or so it seems, until everything falls apart.
“We didn’t set out to write a show specifically about capitalism,” Lee said. “When you’re writing a show about a younger couple trying to make it in this world and an older couple having done everything they can and still not even coming close to their goals, that’s just us trying to write something true and chasing what that would look like.”
Austin and Ashley’s newfound happiness is disrupted by the arrival of the Korean club owner, Chairwoman Park (Youn Yuh-jung), whose pretty assistant, Eunice (Seoyeon Jang), prompts Austin to realize how disconnected he has been from his Korean heritage. His attraction to Eunice sows doubt about his relationship with Ashley — mirroring the fracture between Joshua and Lindsay, who hasn’t been satisfied with her marriage in years.
“I think both seasons of Beef are trying to have nuanced conversations about the things inside all of us that we may not want to talk about,” Lee said. “I’m a big proponent of Carl Jung, and something the cast, the (department heads) and I talked a lot about is shadow work. This season of “Beef” is essentially staring into our shadow.”
Lee, who hands off directing duties on a handful of episodes to executive producers Jake Schreier and Kitao Sakurai, is careful not to bog down the show with all of this weighty contemplation. Emotional revelations are scattered throughout the high jinks, which include a desperate search for a missing wiener dog, multiple financial schemes — such as one that involves tricking women into plastic surgery — and even an accidental killing.
By the time the season reaches Korea, where its finale takes place, viewers might feel bittersweet about saying goodbye to these maladjusted characters. Lee is preparing to bid farewell to “Beef,” too. He isn’t sure what he’ll write next. But then again…
“I never say never, because the same thing happened with Season 2,” Lee said. “I have no idea where inspiration will strike next. But I’ve got a shortcut widget to my Notes app on my home screen, so if inspiration does strike, I’m ready to write it down.”
This story first ran in the Limited Series/TV Movie issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine. Read more from the issue here.
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