Beef Season 2 has just been released on Netflix, and while it features a new set of characters and a new story, many fans might be wondering if it is set in the same universe as Beef Season 1. The story of Beef Season 1, which centered on Amy Lau (played by Ali Wong) and Danny Cho’s (played by Steven Yeun) road rage incident, which exploded into a lengthy and dangerous feud, ended in Season 1 itself, and thus, with Season 2 focusing on a new story, the show is now an anthology.
Many fans might have wondered if Beef is doing what White Lotus did, which is using a new set of characters every season to tell new stories in the same universe. But unfortunately, no such hints have been given in Beef Season 2. Let’s find out if they are from the same universe in greater detail.
Is Beef Season 2 set in Season 1’s universe?
Beef Season 2 focuses on the beef between a younger Gen-Z engaged couple, Ashley and Austin, and an older millennial married couple, Josh and Lindsay. Ashley and Austin are a younger couple who are lower-level staff members at Monte Vista Point Country Club, while Josh is the general manager, and Lindsay is an interior designer.
While everything seems fine, the beef begins when Ashley and Austin accidentally witness a bad fight between Josh and Lindsay, record it, and then use it to blackmail the older couple for better jobs. No character from Beef Season 1 is seen in Beef Season 2, and based on what has been shown in the two seasons so far, Beef Seasons 1 and 2 are not set in the same universe. The only similarity between the two seasons is, however, the theme of class.
Class was a highly represented theme in Season 1 when we saw individuals of different classes having feuds with each other. Donny was a contractor with a struggling business, while Amy was a successful entrepreneur who was trying to sell off her business for a better family life. The difference in their class, social standing, and economic conditions is evident when they both blame each other for their own struggles, thinking that the other’s social class makes them the person they are.
In Beef Season 2, we see how Ashley and Austin need to blackmail Josh and Lindsay simply for higher-paying jobs because Ashley has an ovarian cyst, and her staff job did not offer health insurance. When Ashley does get the promotion, she is ecstatic and thinks she won’t ever have to worry about money, which highlights how much certain classes of people are mistreated in our society, to the point that they perceive basic rights as something extraordinary. Thus, there is so far no proof that the two seasons of Beef are set in the same universe, but they do explore similar themes.
Beef Season 2 stars Oscar Isaac as Josh, Carey Mulligan as Lindsay, Cailee Spaeny as Ashley, Charles Melton as Austin, Youn Yuh-jung as Chairwoman Park, Seoyeon Jang as Eunice, William Fichtner as Troy, Matthew Kim (BM) as Woosh, Mikaela Hoover as Ava, Song Kang-ho as Dr. Kim, Michole Briana White as Janet, Greg Benson as Steve, Jason Her as Chief Counsel, Fernanda Andrade as Sara. Benny Blanco, Baron Davis, Michael Phelps, Eduardo Franco, Suni Lee, Finneas O’Connell, and the band Hot Chip guest star as themselves.
Creator Lee Sung Jin is also the showrunner of Beef Season 2 and an executive producer. Other executive producers of the show are Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Jake Schreier, Ravi Nandan, Alli Reich, Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny, Charles Melton, Anna Ouyang Moench, Kitao Sakurai, Sam French, and Ethan Kuperberg. Matthew Medlin is the producer. The production companies behind the show are A24, Bugsy Bell Productions, Universal Remote, Buji Productions, and Domo Arigato Productions.
Beef Season 2 is streaming on Netflix.
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Edited by Sroban Ghosh