‘Beef’ Creator on Ali Wong and Steven Yeun’s Involvement in Season 2

Beef is back, this time with a new conflict at the center.

The Emmy-winning Netflix series — which in its first season saw Ali Wong and Steven Yeun facing off after a road rage incident that neither would let go of — has embraced an anthology style, and in season two a young couple (Charles Melton and Cailee Spaeny) navigate a new beef with their boss (Oscar Isaac) and his wife (Carey Mulligan) within the elitist world of a country club.

“Season one is so much about two very lonely people who don’t want to participate in life; by the end, there’s a glimmer of hope that maybe they might want to participate. So season two is kind of the natural next step spiritually, where you have two couples who found someone they want to participate in life with, but then what? It’s not smooth sailing,” creator Lee Sung Jin told The Hollywood Reporter at the show’s L.A. premiere on Wednesday. “Season one’s the first level of the video game and this is level two; there’s a new set of hurdles, a new set of pitfalls. It’s a much more emotional season, I think, because it involves the theme of love and marriage.”

Asked if this season takes place in the same universe as the first, Lee admitted he “briefly thought about maybe putting Steven and Ali playing pickleball in the background of the country club. Maybe they are. I don’t know; I’m very curious.” But despite not appearing on screen, Wong and Yeun stayed involved with the series as executive producers and were there to support the new crop of actors.

“They sent food trucks to the crew; when our new cast landed for prep, we all went to an escape room together and went to dinner at [L.A. restaurant] Mother Wolf,” Lee said. “Steven and Ali remain very, very close and near and dear to my heart, and they’ve just been supportive the whole way.”

And though the first season of Beef picked up just about every possible win during the 2024 awards season, a second season was not as automatic as one may have expected. In thinking of new anthology stories for the follow-up, Lee admitted, “I pitched a lot of them when I was trying to get a season two pick-up, and they were all rejected.”

And so when it comes to the show’s future and exploring more beefs, Lee noted, “I don’t have one in my back pocket. But I’m perfectly happy if this ends up being the last season of Beef. I have other things that I’d love to do as well, but if inspiration strikes — as it probably will, as the universe is full of beefs — then I want to remain open and respond.”

Beef season two starts streaming April 16 on Netflix.