The second season of Netflix’s Beef is a little undercooked

📺 The award-winning, critically acclaimed A24 anthology series Beef returns for its second season — this time with a less-inspired storyline led by Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan. The dark comedy hit hard in 2023, turning a road-rage spiral into a deeply personal rivalry led by career-defining performances from Steven Yeun and Ali Wong. However, the internet just isn’t feeling the second season, with The Guardian going as far as calling it a potboiler, and Variety doubling down with some brutal descriptors: “overcrowded, unfocused, unnecessary.”

What’s cooking this season? Creator Lee Sung Jin goes for relationship drama, corruption, class divides, and status quo shakeups. The story takes place in a luxury country club, where Joshua (Isaac) is the general manager alongside his wife Lindsay (Mulligan). The couple gets embroiled in a blackmail bind when two employees, newly engaged couple Ashley (Cailee Spaeny) and Austin (Charles Melton), witness them in a heated fight, capturing a video that could be job-threatening for the pair.

Why we weren’t impressed: While season two kept a similarly layered premise, it failed to follow through on its own ideas. Season two delivers a White-Lotus-style setup — an exaggerated, out-of-touch world and characters that were difficult to root for. Interesting backstories aside, they were ultimately underwritten amid a narrative that bit off more than it could chew.

“Comparison is the thief of joy” — a major theme on the show… and something we couldn’t help but do. Season one felt sharp, original, and fully assured in its direction and overall message. By contrast, the second season leans into cynicism in the name of realism, feeling less cohesive, and is ultimately shaped by a far less certain creative vision.

Our final verdict: As a stand-alone, the season offers a solid, fun watch on par with an above-average Netflix production. If you’re looking for something with a dense, character-packed storyline, the eight-episode show is worth your time.

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WHERE TO WATCH- Season 2 of Beef is streaming on Netflix. Watch the trailer on YouTube (watch, runtime: 1:40).