Celebrating ‘BEEF’ Season 2 and Storytelling That Connects Cultures

BEEF is back for another helping.

The critically acclaimed drama, which swept the 2024 Primetime Emmy® Awards with eight wins including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, returns April 16 with a new cast and a new "beef."

Following in the footsteps of Season 1, series creator Lee Sung-jin dives deeper into his Korean heritage in the second season. The new episodes were partially filmed in South Korea, and feature several Korean and Korean American cast members such as Charles Melton, Youn Yuh-jung, Song Kang-ho, Seoyeon Jang and Matthew Kim.

In Los Angeles, which served as the primary filming location for both seasons, Netflix and Korean American Leaders in Hollywood (KALH) hosted an intimate dinner at modern Korean restaurant Baroo to toast the new season with BEEF's creator and cast members.

The evening opened with remarks from KALH Founder and Executive Director Kymber Lim, who emphasized the significance of the gathering, sharing, "Tonight is not just a celebration of a brilliant show - it's a celebration of the ecosystem that makes stories like this possible, and the collective role we all play in bringing them forward." Lim then gave a nod to Netflix Head of Scripted Series Jinny Howe, who was instrumental in bringing BEEF to the screen: "We all know none of us would be in this room if it wasn't for her."

Lee, the guest of honor, spoke about expanding beyond the first season, which "covered a lot of the Korean American diaspora and a very LA, California Asian-centric experience" and his desire to focus Season 2 on "the half Korean experience is something we hadn't really explored before." After watching his performance in Netflix's May December, Melton was the first cast in the new season. Added Lee, "I think that's why events like this are really important: staying together and connected" as a community.

In Washington, D.C., we screened the first two episodes of Season 2 at the Motion Picture Association with the Korean Cultural Center and Korean Embassy. Guests included South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Kang Kyung-wha, Korean Embassy representatives, guests of the Korean Cultural Center in D.C., and other local guests. Korea's Culinary Class Wars Season 1 runner-up Chef Edward Lee of D.C.'s modern Korean American restaurant SHIA also crafted special dishes for the pre-reception inspired by the new season, in partnership with local Korean American chef Danny Lee.

Before the screening, Elissa Alben, Netflix VP, US and Canada Public Policy and Ambassador Kang both gave opening remarks.

After the screening, Howe moderated a discussion with the cast and creator about the new season. " BEEF is a standout example of Netflix's long tradition of elevated, breakout dramas - what we often call prestige television: series that are artistically ambitious and critically acclaimed, yet still resonate with a global audience," she said. "By leaning even further into its signature cultural specificity - moving the story between Los Angeles and Seoul, Lee Sung Jin has created something that is both singular and universal."

Lee discussed filming the new season in both the US and South Korea. "There are so many sides of Korea that haven't been explored," he said. "There's a lot that's happening in Korea and then there's a lot that's happening in the US, but there's not a lot that's bridging the two."

Lee then thanked the room for their help championing this new season. "For you all to be here and support us like this, it means the world," he said. "I think all of this happens because of community. It really does take a village."

BEEF Season 2 debuts April 16 - only on Netflix.