Beef season 2 officially a-go with star-studded cast (find out who's starring!)

Ready for another round of Beef with double the star power? The Emmy Award-winning Netflix original comedy-drama series is taking the anthology route with its long-rumored second installment. After months and months of whispers, Netflix officially confirmed Beef season 2 on Oct. 22 and announced the four leading cast members that will be beefing.

While the first season was led by Steven Yeun and Ali Wong, Beef season 2 will star Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Charles Melton, and Cailee Spaeny. The names of the talented stars' characters have yet to be revealed, as do a number of other details about the second installment, including further cast members and a production start date.

However, the streaming service did reveal that season 2 will contain eight episodes this time around, down two episodes from season 1's order of 10 episodes. Each episode will still be around 30 minutes, though. On top of how many episodes we'll be getting and the leading stars who will appear in them, we also now vaguely know what season 2 will be about.

Beef season 2 confirmed, cast set

The concept of the now-anthology series is a tense feud between two or more people. In the first season, Yeun and Wong's characters were fighting over a road rage encounter that transcended the streets and became a drawn-out battle. In season 2, a pair of couples will seemingly be playing a social chess match in the upper class setting of a country club.

Here's the current logline via Netflix's press release:

"A young couple witnesses an alarming fight between their boss and his wife, triggering chess moves of favors and coercion in the elitist world of a country club and its Korean billionaire owner. "

Based on the provided synopsis from Netflix, we can assume Melton and Spaeny will play the young couple witnessing a fight between their boss, presumably Isaac, and his wife, presumably Mulligan. The only character unaccounted for in the initial cast list was the country club's Korean billionaire owner, who by a matter of deduction was yet to be cast at the time of the original report.

UPDATE: Youn Yuh-jung was added to the main cast and will portray the country club's Korean billionaire owner, as revealed by Deadline one day after the season 2 announcement.

Beef first premiered on Netflix in April 2023 to near universal critical acclaim, holding a 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The series' first season won eight Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, and a pair of wins for creator Lee Sung Jin's writing and directing.

Rumors began swirling earlier this year that Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal were being eyed to reunite onscreen to star in season 2 with Melton and Spaeny. By this summer, Isaac and Mulligan were in talks to take over the roles from Hathaway and Gyllenhaal. Clearly, those talks turned out to be successful. Either way, fans would be treated to an all-star cast.

Isaac is perhaps best known for his work in Inside Llewyn Davis, the Star Wars sequels, Dune, Scenes from a Marriage, and Moon Knight. Mulligan also starred in Inside Llewyn Davis and has been nominated for three Academy Awards for An Education, Promising Young Woman, and Maestro. Melton's known for his roles in Riverdale, Poker Face, and May/December, while Spaeny has appeared in The Craft: Legacy, Mare of Easttown, Priscilla, and Alien: Romulus among other roles.

Stay tuned for more Beef news and updates from Netflix Life!