Youn Yuh-jung (left) and Seoyeon Jang in a scene from Season 2 of “Beef.”
Rafu Staff Report
Season 2 of “Beef” figured prominently when nominations for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards were announced on July 8. The nominees include:
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series: Season 2 of “Beef” is up against “All Her Fault,” “The Beast in Me,” “DTF St. Louis” and “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette.”
Season 2 of “Beef” is not connected to Season 1, which starred Steven Yuen and Ali Wong. The new story stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton. A poor couple (Spaeny and Melton) blackmail a rich couple (Isaac and Mulligan) with footage of a heated argument that would threaten their image. The series is created by Lee Sung Jin.
Acting nominations in the Limited or Anthology Series or Movie categories went to Mulligan for lead actress, Isaac for lead actor, Youn Yuh-jung for supporting actress, and Melton for supporting actor.
Melton, a Golden Globe nominee for the movie “May December,” is competing for the Emmy with Jason Bateman, David Harbour and Richard Jenkins of “DTF St. Louis,” Richard Gadd of “Half Man,” and Nick Offerman of “Death by Lightning.”
Youn, an Academy Award winner for “Minari,” is competing for the Emmy with Linda Cardellini and Joy Sunday of “DTF St. Louis,” Dakota Fanning of “All Her Fault,” Laurie Metcalf of “Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” and Constance Zimmer of “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette.” Youn plays Chairwoman Park, the owner of the country club where the story takes place.
The Season 2 cast also includes Song Kang-ho, Seoyeon Jang and Matthew Kim.
Lee was nominated for Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, along with Megan Gallagher for “All Her Fault,” Gabe Rotter and Daniel Pearle for “The Beast in Me,” Mike Makowsky for “Death by Lightning,” and Steven Conrad for “DTF St. Louis.”
Both Lee and Jake Schreier were nominated for Directing of a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie along with Jason Bateman for “Black Rabbit” and Steven Conrad for “DTF St. Louis.”
In Limited or Anthology Series or Movie categories, “Beef” was also nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing, Outstanding Casting, Outstanding Picture Editing, Outstanding Sound Editing, Outstanding Cinematography, Outstanding Stunt Coordination, and Outstanding Contemporary Costumes.
Yeun, who won an Emmy for his “Beef” role, was nominated this year for Character Voice-Over Performance for “Invincible,” along with Pamela Adlon for “King of the Hill,” Julie Andrews for “Bridgerton,” Hank Azaria for “The Simpsons,” Trey Parker for “South Park,” and Matt Vogel for “The Muppet Show.”
Season 1 of “Beef,” which also featured Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, David Choe and Patti Yasutake, won eight Emmys in 2024, including lead actress for Wong and directing and writing for Lee.
Directing for a Comedy Series: Hiro Murai was nominated for “Widow’s Bay” along with Randall Einhorn for “Abbott Elementary,” Christopher Storer for “The Bear,” Andrew DeYoung for “The Chair Company,” Lucia Aniello for “Hacks,” and Mary Lou Belli for “The Ms. Pat Show.” Murai won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2023 as one of the executive producers of “The Bear.”
Picture Editing for a Drama Series: Keiko Deguchi and Amy Duddleston were nominated for “Task” along with Nikola Boyanov, Aleshka Ferrero, Aaron Butler, Julio Perez IV, and Kristin Valentine for “Euphoria,” Tamara Luciano and Mark Strand for “The Pitt,” and Joey Liew and Chris McCaleb for “Pluribus.” This is Deguchi’s first Emmy nomination.
Writing for a Drama Series: Valerie Chu was nominated for “The Pitt” along with Kirsten Pierre-Geyfman and R. Scott Gemmill for “The Pitt,” Peter Ackerman and Debora Cahn for “The Diplomat,” Vince Gilligan for “Pluribus,” Will Smith for “Slow Horses,” and Brad Ingelsby for “Task.”