Vlad Bunoan

Article (news)

Yong Chavez

ABS-CBN News North America

<div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h7RpmnbHTsg?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>There is a moment in the second season of &quot;Beef&quot; when an Asian-American character who had been waiting for hours for medical attention for his seriously ill partner wishes desperately for a Filipino nurse (played by Gino Villanueva). At a private event celebrating the show, I asked its creator Lee Sung Jin what inspired that scene. He said Filipinos’ reputation for being caring health workers reflects reality.</p><p>He also shared that most of that hospital scene was based on his own experience when his wife got sick and they waited for about 10 hours to get help. It was one of the scenes culled from his own experiences.</p><p>Despite the tremendous success of the first season, Lee was not sure that it would get a sequel. During a press conference, he described the process of figuring out what story to tell next. The story only took root after a real-life argument in his neighborhood, filtered through his subsequent conversations with people of different ages. “My Gen Z peers were aghast. ‘Did you call 911?’ My millennial and Gen X peers were like, ‘Eh, big deal.’” That gap in perception became a narrative framework that proved useful to Lee.</p><p>Set between Los Angeles and Seoul, the new season trades the intimacy of its predecessor for a broader ecosystem of power. A country club anchors much of the action, a setting Lee described as a “microcosm for society,” where “most of the members were Silent Gen and Boomers and most of the employees were millennials and Gen Z.” Workers circulate endlessly around wealth they will never access, performing proximity as a substitute for mobility. It shows, in vivid frames, that no matter how hard employees work, most will never be as rich as the people they serve.</p><p>Charles Melton, who plays Austin, framed it during the press conference in terms that feel both philosophical and practical: “There’s a crossroads where you can either choose the right thing or the good thing for you. Sometimes it’s both, and sometimes it’s not. And sometimes there’s external factors like the construct of capitalism, and how does that coincide with love and relationships.”</p><p>What emerges is a portrait of relationships impacted by scarcity, even among the wealthy. Carey Mulligan’s Lindsay experiences power in fleeting, almost accidental bursts. “She feels entirely powerless until she’s in a real bind, at which point she gets quite good at being manipulative,” Mulligan said.]</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776405767316Charles Melton, Cailee Spaeny Oscar Isaac Carey Mulligan.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Charles Melton, Cailee Spaeny, Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan in &#x27;Beef&#x27; season 2. <em>Netflix</em></span></span></span></div><p>Oscar Isaac’s Josh, an immigrant and Lindsay’s husband, operates from a different vantage point, though the illusion of control proves just as fragile. The show leans into the irony of presenting characters who believe they have outgrown certain mistakes while actively repeating them in different forms.</p><p>The series also widens its critique to include institutions that profit from vulnerability. The American health care system appears less as a backdrop and more as a force that influences decision-making at the most personal level. It mirrors real life, where ordinary Americans are just one catastrophic illness away from bankruptcy. Its scenes where patients are left suffering in emergency rooms, where some healthcare workers can be cold and uncaring, are more realistic than what’s shown on &quot;The Pitt.&quot; I know this from personal experience, like Lee.</p><p>Lee’s writing continues to draw from his own internal landscape, though the scale has shifted. In our sit-down interview, he reflected on the role of personal struggle in his work: “This sort of existential search for meaning is something I’ve had since I was very young. This season I was trying to examine that through the lens of love and marriage.” The show’s willingness to engage with discomfort extends beyond its characters to its audience, asking viewers to recognize aspects of themselves they might prefer to ignore. He described it as an exercise in confronting the shadow, an idea borrowed from Carl Jung, where suppressed impulses are brought into view rather than pushed aside.</p><p>Melton experienced that process as part of his performance. “There was a very big shadow of my soul that came to the surface,” he said in the interview. “The vehicle for that shadow to be lived in was through the direction and the words that Sunny (Lee’s nickname) put on the paper.” His description aligns with the show’s larger ambition, which treats identity as something negotiated rather than fixed. Austin’s navigation of his Korean-American identity, particularly in Seoul, adds another layer to the generational conversation, where cultural belonging intersects with economic aspiration.</p><p>If the first season of &quot;Beef&quot; was about the volatility of individual grievance, the second feels more systemic. The conflicts are still personal and sharp, but they are embedded within structures that make resolution difficult to sustain. Lee referenced the concept of samsara, describing “this eternal cycle of life and death and love and suffering that we all seem to be trapped in.” The idea lingers over the season, suggesting that the characters are not simply reacting to their circumstances but also participating in patterns that extend beyond them.</p><p>The result is a show that resists easy catharsis. The characters experience moments of clarity, but these do not necessarily lead to transformation. As Isaac put it, there is value in “being able to watch it and recognize some behavior and to have some kind of compassion for how humans behave in these kinds of situations.” That recognition raises an implicit question: what would it take to break the cycle? The season does not offer an answer. The conflict at the center of Beef is less about who wins and more about who continues, and at what cost.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Q&amp;A with Beef’s young South Korean stars Matthew Kim (also known as BM) and Seoyeon Jang at the Hollywood premiere</strong></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776405573279Carey Mulligan and BM.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Matthew Kim (BM) with Carey Mulligan. <em>Netflix</em></span></span></span></div><p>Matthew Kim, also known as BM from the South Korean group KARD, plays Woosh in &quot;Beef&quot; Season 2. This is his debut acting role.</p><div><strong>Growing up in Upland, California, how did that influence your choice of career? Because I can&#x27;t imagine there are a lot of rappers in Upland.</strong></div><p>Yeah, growing up, music, huge influence in my life and all your friends. You know what song is in and cool at the time, you listen to it with your friends in the car wherever. That&#x27;s just culture, right? That we grew up with, huge influence on my taste in music.</p><div><strong>How was the transition from here to Korea?</strong></div><p>From here to Korea was tough, you know, I wasn&#x27;t too fond of my own culture, I had to go and learn everything from scratch. I pretty much was born again and gained a completely new soul. But I&#x27;m so glad I did, because there&#x27;s so many beautiful things to learn about Korea.</p><div><strong>What are the themes in this show that you gained a little bit more understanding of because of the story?</strong></div><p>Hmm. I feel like everyone&#x27;s on their career ladder, right? Everyone&#x27;s trying to take that next step upwards, but in the process, it&#x27;s so easy to lose yourself. And I think the show does an amazing job reminding the viewers that, if that&#x27;s you right now, you know, take a skrrt. (laughs) You know, like, stop a little and then take a deep breath, take a deep thought, and then it lets you kind of reflect on yourself.</p><div><strong>Were you already in character as soon as you got Woosh’s hair?</strong></div><p>The hair did a lot. It did. Yeah, I think it was after the hair, it was the tennis attire. And then once I started, once I got a racket in my hand, I&#x27;m like, Okay, I&#x27;m Woosh now.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1776405640078Seoyeon Jang.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Seoyeon Jang. <em>Netflix</em></span></span></span></div><p>Seoyeon Jang plays Eunice in &quot;Beef&quot; season two, and her scenes were mostly with Charles Melton and Youn Yuh-jun.</p><div><strong>What did you take away from the story and what’s something that really stayed with you? </strong></div><p>Yeah, definitely. I think especially as I was portraying Eunice, it really reminded me of power and moral values. It&#x27;s definitely something that Eunice has to balance. But at the end of the day, I think it&#x27;s all about staying true to yourself and just chasing what your intuition tells you to.</p><div><strong>And co-starring with one of Korea&#x27;s best actresses. How did that feel?</strong></div><p>Well, it was such an honor. I know definitely my mom, who&#x27;s standing over there, she was so proud. I think working with Youn Yuh-jun was definitely one of the most proudest achievements of my life. For sure, I wanted</p><div><strong>Did you have a beef from your childhood that you still remember from until now?</strong></div><p>I think we all have little incidences, but we have to learn to get over them. Some of them very difficult, I know, but we do try.</p><div><strong>Someone from school?</strong></div><p>Well, here and there in life. (laughs)</p><div><strong>Having a Hollywood project like this, how would you describe your experience?</strong></div><p>Incredible. I would not swap this experience for anything in life. It was definitely one of the most precious moments I will cherish forever. Just happy to be here.</p>

<p>In its second season, “Beef” expands its exploration of class, labor and human behavior, with its creator and cast reflecting on the personal and systemic forces shaping the story’s conflicts.</p>

In its second season, “Beef” expands its exploration of class, labor and human behavior, with its creator and cast reflecting on the personal and systemic forces shaping the story’s conflicts.

HERE IN HOLLYWOOD: ‘Beef’ stars unpack the show’s lessons on anger and class

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Movies & Series

HERE IN HOLLYWOOD: ‘Beef’ stars unpack the show’s lessons on anger and class

Yong Chavez,

ABS-CBN News North America

Published April 17, 2026 04:49 PM PHT

Read More:

Beef

Netflix

Here in Hollywood

Yong Chavez

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.