Beef has a more subtle flavor this time

Beef is back, baby! And no, this has nothing to do with the McDonald’s CEO eating a burger weird, but with the Netflix anthology series Beef, created by Lee Sung Jin. Season one saw Ali Wong and Steven Yeun as rivals sworn in a blood feud after a road rage incident. Following the massive success of season one, which included eight Emmy wins, season two was able to pull a massive cast. The headliners are Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny, and Charles Melton. The supporting cast includes Song Kang-ho, Youn Yuh-jung, and William Fichtner.

The teaser for Beef dropped yesterday, and in Celebrity Social Media, Maria mentioned that this time around, the beef is less clearly defined. What is the inciting incident? Oscar Isaac plays Josh, the general manager of a prestigious country club. Carey Mulligan plays his wife, Lindsay. Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton play Ashley and Austin, respectively, a pair of younger workers at the club who are also in a relationship. So, what IS the beef?

Apparently, season two is a more subtle exploration of intergenerational conflict and relationship drama. The inciting incident is witnessed at the end of the teaser, when Ashley and Austin see Josh and Lindsay engaged in a brutal fight inside their home—one that might have gotten (more?) violent if not for their interruption. Season two is about toxic workplaces and domestic drama trailing us to work. So, yeah, it’s not as clearly defined as road rage, but things can get just as ugly in a toxic workplace, though it can be a more passive-aggressive rage. After all, there is an expectation of decorum in a professional setting, which is heightened by these four individuals working at an elite private club.

I am very intrigued to see what Lee does with this concept, how far he escalates the conflict—season one went INSANELY far—and how the intergenerational aspect plays into it. I tend to think the generational wars get overblown—everyone is young and cool at one point, just as everyone gets old—but there has been rapid social and technological change over the last 25 years which has created some really clear demarcations between generations. There is a lot of room to play, especially in what people of different generations expect from their workplace and their bosses. Beef season two may have a more subtle flavor, but there is still plenty of space for toxicity.