Beef Season 2 Review: Netflix's Darkly Comedic Anthology Series Takes It To The Next Level

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Ever wonder what keeps drawing us back to dark stories about complicated characters behaving badly? There's the reality TV-style tourism factor of it all, where we as viewers can sit at a distant remove and pat ourselves on the back that we're not nearly as messed up as those people. Some can find an odd sort of comfort in stories that traffic in the full spectrum of humanity, shining a light on the worst moments in our lives to (hopefully) highlight the best we're capable of. Still others just want a good old-fashioned adult drama — one that resists any lurid, rubbernecking vibes or mostly just wallows in exploitative schlock.

What if someone cracked the code on how best to take advantage of each and every one of these factors ... all while interrogating those very same impulses at the same time? The debut season of "Beef" came out of nowhere in 2023 to become a standout example of this exact mode of storytelling, thanks to creator/showrunner/executive producer Lee Sung Jin. His ability to take the most mundane of real-life tipping points — in that instance, a case of road rage gone horribly wrong — and transform it into as bizarre, offbeat, and farcical a cautionary tale as you'll ever see proved an instant winner. Turning this limited series into an anthology show built to last could've (and probably should've) been an impossible feat, but season 2 somehow molds that same loose concept and spins it into what will almost certainly be more Emmy-winning gold.

This time, "Beef" focuses on two rival couples from two completely different generations and puts them on a collision course stemming from an awfully dark place: a disagreement that, from the outside looking in, brushes right up to the line of domestic violence. On the surface, Oscar Isaac's ultra-charismatic Josh Martín and his sophisticated English wife Lindsay (Carey Mulligan) have it all — an extravagant country club to run, high-profile clientele to fawn over, and a life well on its way to a tax bracket most of us peasants can only dream about. But when star-crossed club employees Ashley (Cailee Spaeny) and Austin (Charles Melton) catch their boss in the midst of a particularly heated argument at home, the incriminating evidence Ashley records on her phone unleashes a spider's web of complications that threatens to ensnare all four of their lives.

What unfolds from there is another shocking, absurd, and morbidly hilarious spiral into the abyss of our own worst inclinations. "Beef" season 1 held a mirror to everything we tend to worry over or take for granted, from our self-image to our love lives to the mile-wide gulf between what we envisioned for ourselves and where we actually ended up. Season 2 takes this to the next level and delivers the next chapter of one of the best streaming shows around.

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If there's any formula or stricture that "Beef" ought to generally adhere to — beyond that jaw-dropping fight early in the premiere that kicks off the story — it's the idea of an all-star cast full of leading talent and skillful character actors anchored by nuanced scripts. Suffice it to say that the main quartet of Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny, and Charles Melton more than hold up their end of the bargain. Lee Sung Jin, who either directs or co-writes each of the eight total episodes this season (all of which were made available to review), and who has three seasons of the show planned, puts his unmistakable fingerprints on every aspect of the season. All four of his stars frequently hold the camera and keep us enthralled, whether it be several highly-charged closeups or artistically-framed wide shots. In turn, the material gives the ensemble the time and space to elevate their own performances. You never need to guess what's going on in the complex, oftentimes contradictory minds of these characters — you can see the gears turning every step of the way, simply by watching this murderer's row of actors do their thing.

"Beef" consistently finds a way to keep viewers invested, even as we learn more about these self-destructive figures and witness them at their lowest, least flattering moments. Anyone who thinks we need likeable heroes and the purest of protagonists to root for are likely in for a rude awakening here. Rest assured, pretty much nobody escapes the carnage with their reputations intact.

It's no spoiler to say that there are no good or bad guys in this story. As bad as things look for the crumbling marriage between Josh and Lindsay, the circumstances surrounding the perpetually self-doubting Ashley and her empathetic (but empty-headed) fiancée Austin aren't much better. As both couples are drawn further and further into each other's orbit, "Beef" makes use of its real secret weapon: a preternatural control of tone, swinging confidently from acidic to emotional to darkly humorous at the drop of a hat. You won't know whether to recoil in disgust or laugh at the absurdity on display, but such unpredictability only makes this even more appealing to binge in as few sittings as possible.

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Anyone who's watched movies from "Revolutionary Road" to the recent "Is This Thing On?" know that there's only so many ways to depict relationships breaking down in real time. With only one or two exceptions, "Beef" avoids any potential potholes by finding increasingly clever and natural approaches to placing these characters in their most vulnerable positions. In one scene, a steadicam shot chaotically transforms into handheld when an argument is about to explode with alarming consequences. In another, the set and production design keeps emotionally distant partners literally separated from one another, despite sharing the same physical space. All the while, director of photography James Laxton supplements the action throughout "Beef" with a downright cinematic grasp of blocking and framing. Working hand-in-hand with this stable of directors (including Lee Sung Jin, Jake Schreier, and Kitao Sakurai), the efforts of the below-the-line crew only ever adds to the drama on the subtlest visual level. This continues to be a show that doesn't merely tell its story well, but knows how to dazzle as it does so.

And then there's the actual themes at play, which never take the easy way out. Yes, the writing team mercilessly takes the piss out of neurotic Gen Z stereotypes. Ashley overthinks every possible element of her relationship and her surprisingly successful scheme to blackmail her boss to get out of dire financial straits, while Austin falls back on meaningless therapy-speak to avoid confronting the increasingly resentful feelings bubbling up inside. But don't think for a second that Gen X avoids the target on their backs either, as Josh and Lindsay wake up alarmingly close to middle age and are forced to come to terms with whether they've wasted their lives all along. (The one saving grace up their sleeves? The adorable Dachshund Burberry portrayed by scene-stealing pup Jones, who plays a larger role in things than you may expect.)

This is a show that never pulls a punch when it can land a haymaker instead. If any of this comes across as placing "Beef" on too high of a pedestal, keep in mind that not all of its charms are of the highbrow variety. A cavalcade of hilarious celebrity cameos too good to spoil, recurring gags and in-jokes that only get better as the season goes on, and a thrilling plot that takes a small narrative to some seriously outsized (if outlandish) places are just a few morsels I'm comfortable teasing. As for the rest, believe me when I say that the destination is well worth the journey. "Beef" was a can't-miss prospect when it first arrives and it remains one in its darker, more ambitious, and impressively mature second season.

/Film Rating: 8.5 out of 10

"Beef" season 2 premieres on Netflix April 16, 2026.