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10th December 2025
12:06pm GMT
The second season of Beef, which is widely considered to be one of Netflix's best original shows ever, has just gotten an exciting update from one of its writers and producers.
Premiering in April 2023, the first season of the comedy crime thriller followed the aftermath of a road rage incident between two strangers in California.
These were Danny Cho (Steven Yeun), a failing contractor with a chip on his shoulder, and Amy Lau (famed stand-up comedian Ali Wong), a self-made entrepreneur with a picturesque life.
Unable to let the incident go, the pair became entangled in a prolonged feud of increasing stakes, one which threatened to unravel their lives and relationships.
Beef S1 was renowned for its performances, its rich characters, its unpredictable story and the way it blended a black comedy crime thriller with a more complex, serious drama about the pressures and struggles of second-generation immigrants, mental health, self-destruction and existentialism.
In October 2023, Netflix officially renewed the series for a second season. The new batch of episodes will see the show shift to an anthology format, as they will follow a whole new story and cast of characters.
Starring Cailee Spaeny (Alien: Romulus), Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), Charles Melton (Warfare), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) and Oscar-winner Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari), the plot synopsis for Beef season two reads:
"This season’s inciting incident? A young couple witnesses an alarming fight between their boss and his wife, triggering chess moves of favors and coercion in the elitist world of a country club and its Korean billionaire owner."
Beef season two's cast will also include Mikaela Hoover (Superman), Song Kang-ho (Parasite) and William Fichtner (Prison Break).
JOE recently spoke to writer-director Alex Russell about his excellent debut movie: the stalker thriller Lurker (which you can read about right here).
Russell worked as a writer and producer on the first season of Beef. In fact, he penned one of the show's most memorable episodes, which was titled 'Just Not All at the Same Time' and was set in Las Vegas.
As such, we had to ask Russell if he was involved with Beef S2.
He confirmed that he is and that he has even seen a couple of episodes of the season, which suggests that it might not be too long until they are released on Netflix.
The writer-director also told us that he believes the new batch of episodes will "make a splash".
You can read a transcript of the interaction in full below:
JOE: I do have to ask about Beef because it's one of the best shows I've seen in recent years. Obviously, season two is telling a different story. I think people are very excited about it. Are you involved in any way with that, because I know you wrote and produced on the first season?
Alex Russell: Yes, and I've seen the first couple episodes.
JOE: Is there anything you can say about it, even vaguely?
Alex Russell: I could say that I think it'll make a splash.
During the conversation, JOE also asked Russell (who worked on The Bear as well) if he'd like to work predominantly in cinemas now, following the acclaim for Lurker, or if he would still like to make TV.
In response, he told us: "Hopefully, I have the privilege not to think format first, but to think concept first.
"If I have an idea that would fit better as a show or a miniseries or a film, then I'll know at some point in the writing process.
"But it's both a gift and a curse that I may not be constrained to just one."
