NETFLIX’S MOST EXPLOSIVE FEUD DRAMA MIGHT NOT BE OVER YET.

After the shocking return of Beef, creator Lee Sung Jin has quietly hinted that the story could go even further than fans expected — with plans that were never meant to stop where the show is now.

Nothing has been officially confirmed yet… but insiders say the future of this chaotic Netflix hit might already be mapped out. 👀🔥👇

Is Beef Coming Back for Season 3?

“Never say never,” creator Lee Sung Jin tells Esquire.

Much like the Samsara that appears at the end of Beef season 2, TV is a never-ending cycle. When one show ends, another one begins, and no story is ever allowed to simply live and let die. But in season 2 of the Netflix drama, created by Lee Sung Jin, the writer pulled off a second installment that dug even deeper than before. Covering the story of three couples, over three generations, Beef arrives at a grand statement on modern love that asserts we are doomed to repeat ourselves if we don’t find a way to break the cycle.

The season follows country club manager Josh (Oscar Isaac) and his wife Lindsay (Carey Mulligan), who are caught almost coming to blows while arguing in their home. Two of their younger employees—fiancées Austin (Charles Melton) and Ashley (Cailee Spaeny)—record the incident and question what to do with the footage. From there, we’re off to the races.

“I was in my neighborhood and there was—as Josh says in the show—a heated debate from a house that caused a stir,” creator Lee Sung Jin tells Esquire. “What I found fascinating was all the differing reactions… It really felt like the younger couples were just very much in the vein of Oh my, you should call the police. And older neighbors and couples were all just like, ‘It’s a Wednesday night.’ I thought that was so funny. And then also it made me reflect about my own life.”

Courtesy of Netflix
Carey Mulligan stars as “Lindsay’ in ’Beef’ Season 2.

Of course, the inciting event is just the beginning of the beef in season 2. The Netflix drama eventually introduces an even greater generational divide when Youn Yuh-jung and Song Kang-ho enter as a third, older couple with severe baggage. But after another successful season that covers everything from why people get married to the ways that capitalism destroys relationships, is there still beef to air out in a potential season 3?

“I mean, never say never,” Lee says. “When I finished season 1, I thought, Okay, we’re probably not going to do a season 2. And I didn’t

really want to at the time either. Right now I’m in a similar space where I’m very tired. Being in the Beef world is, as you can imagine with the topic matter, it’s very mentally exhausting. But you never know. It just all depends on if real life surprises me again and inspires me to write something that I’m passionate about.”

Courtesy of Netflix
Academy Award winner Youn Yuh-jung arrives in the middle of the season to really shake up the plot.

Netflix has yet to renew the series for season 3. According to Lee, he’s looking forward to working on another project before he thinks about returning for more Beef. He’s writing and directing a film with Steven Yeun—who starred in the first season of Beef—that he describes as “There Will Be Blood meets The Informant meets Tarkovsky’s Stalker.”

“I can’t wait to be partnered up with Steven again,” he says. “That’ll be my next passion project.”

After that? Well, Lee is also spending time with his one-year-old daughter. She was born during filming for Beef season 2. And if there’s any age-old beef that Lee hasn’t touched yet, it’s the arguments between a father and his daughter.