‘Beef’ Season 2: Everything Fans Need to Know About the Anthology Series

The hugely successful Netflix and A24 series Beef has received critical and commercial acclaim since premiering in 2023. While the story of Danny and Amy had a conclusive ending, speculation is high that Beef Season 2 will still happen. While Netflix has yet to announce the show’s renewal officially, recent reports have suggested that another season may be in the works.

Here’s what we know so far about Beef Season 2.

Will There Be Beef Season 2?

Despite being branded as a limited series, an article from Deadline reveals that another season may be in the works. This comes one year after the series premiered on Netflix. The show was massively successful in this past award season, earning many nominations and awards for its leads, Steven Yeun and Ali Wong. Aside from having another season, it will also reportedly continue on as an anthology series.

Netflix has yet to confirm Beef Season 2 officially. However, show creator Lee Sung Jin has reportedly written scripts for a Season 2 as an anthology. This means the upcoming season would feature a brand new story rather than continue the previous narrative. It’s also important to note that this was originally how Lee pitched Beef, to be an anthology series.

“Cards on the table, we did pitch this show as a limited anthology. So there is sort of a close-ended-ness to the story,” Lee told ELLE.com in 2023. “But if given the opportunity, of course, I’d love to explore them further. Because Danny and Amy, I love those characters. But yeah, by design, though, this is a close-ended narrative.”

Separately, Lee also told Deadline during the Golden Globes on January 7, 2024, about a possible Season 2.

“We always pitched the season to buyers as an anthology series. There was always going to be new characters,” said Lee. “Whether it stays limited or turns as an anthology or we continue existing, that’s really up to Netflix. But whatever they decide, I’m definitely ready.”

Season 1 Plot

During the first season of Beef, the story revolved around Danny Cho and Amy Lau. Danny and Amy become increasingly connected after a disaster that happened in a parking lot. The incident turns into an all-out feud including pranks and crimes which take a toll on their lives and loved ones.

“I wanted to make a series that highlights the honest and deep-seated darker emotions within us,” Lee told Korean reporters in early February 2024. “When facing such dark sides within each of us, we can then understand each other and begin to accept ourselves and others.”

“In the field of arts, I think there is a Venn diagram swinging from self-doubt on one side and narcissism on the other,” added Lee. “In the overlapping part of the diagram, there is the art. You doubt yourself on whether anyone would be interested in what you create. And at the same time, you feel like you could win all the awards in the world. And Beef came about in the middle ground of that.”

Who Will Star in Season 2?

If Beef Season 2 happens, a new cast will be taking center stage. According to Deadline in February 2024, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Cailee Spaeny, and Charles Melton are being eyed for the series. (In fact, Lee was also spotted chatting with Melton at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards back in January. See the image above.) Still, the report notes that talks for the actors to star are still in their early stages.

Season 1 starred Steven Yeun and Ali Wong as Danny Cho and Amy Lau respectively. Both Yeun and Wong won Golden Globe, Emmy, Critics Choice, and SAG awards for their performances on the show. The first season also starred Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, David Choe, Patti Yasutake, Maria Bello, and Ashley Park.

“It’s really exciting when you have a predominantly Asian-American cast. Because then all of the people get to be people,” Wong told Digital Spy about the show in April 2023. “It’s not like when people will talk about a show, and refer to our characters…They won’t say, ‘Oh, the Asian one.’ They’ll say, ‘Oh, the one who was in jail, who has a lot of menace.’ You get to be a complicated human being, creatively, and just how you’re being talked about is so wonderful.”

“It allows other people to connect to that other human being too,” added Yeun. “There’s no barrier of entry. It’s kind of like going into it so deeply that you come out the other side and are like: ‘Oh, I’m for everybody.’ It’s cool.”

What to Expect

On February 26, Deadline reported that the possible plot for Beef Season 2 was already in the works. This time, the second season would focus on “two feuding couples.”

In separate comments to The Hollywood Reporter, Lee echoed his interest in making more seasons of Beef. Lee noted at the time that he was also open to continuing Danny and Amy’s story.

“I’d love to make more. We initially pitched the show as an anthology series where every season is a new beef with new characters,” said Lee. “At the same time, I really love Danny and Amy and George and Paul and the world we created. So, I’m really open to it all. Most importantly, I really want to keep working with this crew that I’ve really fallen in love with. But it’s hard for me to say which direction we’ll go without a writers’ room and any sort of momentum. So I’m really hoping the AMPTP comes to its senses,” said Lee at the time of the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Beef Season 2 Release Date

There’s no official release date yet for Beef Season 2, as we’re still waiting on an official announcement from Netflix. Production is scheduled to begin in late summer of 2024. And filming will take place in Los Angeles. 

During the Emmys, Lee echoed his comments on possibly going further with Beef.

“I feel like there are so many paths. It could stay limited – it was a very close-ended story for sure. But if Netflix wanted to continue, it could also be an anthology,” Lee told Variety at the time. “It could be many things. It’s up to the great algorithm. We’re all waiting to hear.”

For now, fans can rewatch the entire first season on Netflix.