The beauty of Beef is that it’s not afraid to get transgressive. Netflix’s best revenge thriller follows a group of people following their absolute worst instincts: in its first season, it was through a road rage incident that spiraled into a wreck of epic proportions. In transposing that brand of conflict to a quiet country club, its second might seem a bit more understated — but Beef is actually going bigger, broader, and sexier for Season 2.
Rather than follow two very-different motorists (and their put-upon families) through increasingly contentious acts of sabotage, director Jake Schreier and writer-creator Lee Sung Jin are tweaking Beef’s scope to follow three disgruntled couples, and the furious web that connects them. Questions of class and power will play a major role, just as they did in Season 1. But, as we see in the show’s latest trailer, Season 2 might also be a lot hornier than its predecessor, turning the proceedings into a psychosexual game of chess.
Netflix’s new promo naturally plays its cards close to the chest, withholding most plot details beyond what has already been revealed. The titular beef kicks off when Ashley (Cailee Spaeny) and Austin (Charles Melton), two newly-engaged employees at a local country club, catch their boss Josh (Oscar Isaac) in a knock-down, drag-out fight with his wife, Lindsay (Carey Mulligan). But they’re caught too, taking a picture of the fight at its worst... and the games begin.
However, the latest trailer digs a little deeper into the frustrations that trigger their feud. Over a flurry of out-of-context shots, Lindsay admits that her ostensibly happy marriage is more like “a temporary band-aid.” While they’re united by the “immense pain” of choosing the wrong person, Ashley and Austin are enjoying an extended honeymoon phase.
That is, of course, until the inciting incident, which seems to open the floodgates for all manner of temptations and infidelities. Lindsay is caught ogling Woosh (K-pop star BM), the son of Youn Yuh-jung’s Chairwoman Park. (Park’s ongoing conflicts with her second husband, played by Parasite’s Song Kang-ho, create the third side of this miserable triangle.) Austin, meanwhile, guides a client (Seoyeon Jang) through a very sensual stretch. And there’s more where that came from, too: Lee cited erotic thrillers like The Handmaiden, and domestic dramas like Revolutionary Road and Phantom Thread, as inspiration for this season of Beef. How all of that will coincide with Lee’s other inspirations — like Burn After Reading and The Informant! — only makes the anticipation for Season 2 that much juicier.
