The cast and creators of Netflix’s ‘BEEF’ take us inside season two

The Emmy-award winning BEEF, from Netflix, returns this week with a new cast and a new "beef." Moving into the entanglements of an elite country club, the anthology series is more seasoned for season two with stand out stars like Charles Melton, Oscar Isaac, and Carey Mulligan, a riveting score from GRAMMY-winning artist, FINNEAS, and a new twisting scandal sure to have you pressing “next episode” immediately.

Our Audacy hosts, Megan Holiday from LA’s KROQ and SF’s LIVE 105, Karla Hernandez from Chicago’s B96, Bennett from Philadelphia’s NEW 96.5, and Mikalah Gordon from Las Vegas’ KLUC, made their way to Los Angeles to talk with the artists behind BEEF, to see what makes season 2 different, and what’s the thread that runs through the series.

Check out our conversations with composer FINNEAS, star Charles Melton, and creator Lee Sung Jin.

FINNEAS

FINNEAS explained his preparation for scoring the emotionally complex show, saying he first tries not to think about how the music will be received, but rather focuses on his reaction to the scripts. "I think the first thing you have to do is try not to think about it, right? You have to not think about how it's all gonna be received and just focus on what you're reacting to and making that feels fun and interesting to you," he shares.

“It was a really fun, long, challenging process that I learned a lot from, and I feel like that's really what I look for in my life is, ‘what am I going to learn from,’ you know, because at the end of the day, that's the thing I get to take away.”

He also noted that the sheer volume of music required was daunting, mentioning that the final episode alone contained 40 minutes of music, which is almost a full album's length. However, he found this intensive process a gift, as it removed the time to "get too precious" or overthink his work.

“You're just making stuff and there's not time to overthink it,” he says. “I would say, comparing it to working with Billie [Eilish], like, I treat the writer [and] director as the artist, right? So if I'm in with Billie, even if I think I've got my best idea, if Billie's like, ‘It's fine, but I'm not responding to that.’ I'm like, ‘cool, it's your album, we'll try something else.’ Same deal with the writer, director, it's like this is your vision here and I'm participating in it, but I'm not gonna let my ego get in.”

Charles Melton and Lee Sung Jin

According to creator and showrunner Lee Sung Jin, the core idea for season two arose after a Netflix executive advised him to leave BEEF alone unless he was truly inspired, prompting him to take a hard look in the mirror. The inspiration came from overhearing a real-life argument and observing the generational difference in how peers reacted to the incident. "I found that dichotomy so fascinating, and I thought there might be a season here where we could really examine love and marriage across time.”

The dark humor of BEEF is a major part of the show’s success, with Lee Sung Jin commending Charles Melton's ability to ground the emotional scenes while providing levity. "So the ability to capture both tones and ground it is something that very, very few actors can do.”

"Life doesn't need slapstick comedy to be funny,” Melton adds.

The pair also revealed that the original ending for the season was reshot, because despite its beauty it wasn’t connecting. "It was shot beautifully. It was acted beautifully, but just wasn't hitting,” shares Lee Sung Jin. “I think what I loved about working on season one's finale was that there was a deeper spirituality to the finale. And so I wanted the ending of season two to have a little bit of that spiritual depth.”

“We came up with this concept, this top shot, and my favorite works of art and television are the ones that kind of leave space for you to participate as the viewer. ‘Sopranos’ does that so well. ‘Mad Men’ does that so well. As we were shooting it, I did find myself stop thinking about the characters and start thinking about my own life and just projecting my own feelings and regrets and everything.”

“My hope is that wherever you're at in your life, that we've supplied a wide enough canvas for you to be able to project what you're going through and hopefully that changes over time.”