{"id":5300,"date":"2026-08-14T20:07:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T20:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5300"},"modified":"2026-08-14T20:07:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T20:07:19","slug":"how-oscar-isaac-and-carey-mulligan-brought-their-own-backstories-to-the-lindsay-josh-fight-in-beef-season-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5300","title":{"rendered":"How Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan Brought Their Own Backstories to the Lindsay-Josh Fight in \u2018Beef\u2019 Season 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n<\/p>\n
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\nBeef<\/em> creator Lee Sung Jin welcomes reactions of any kind. Whether a viewer is looking to debate a plot point with friends or argue over their favorite character, the writer-director is just happy people are talking about the series.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Stuart Fails to Save the Universe\u2019 Renewed for Second Season at HBO Max<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s just fun that in this climate where you have so many things vying for everyone\u2019s attention to have a show that they\u2019ll be able to connect [with],\u201d he tells The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>. \u201cThat\u2019s what you hope for as a showrunner, is just to spawn a reaction, something that makes you feel something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe hit anthology series, which returned for its second season earlier this year, has been getting reactions out of viewers since its critically acclaimed first season. In 2023, season one raked in eight Emmys, including best limited series or anthology, lead actor, lead actress, writing and directing. Season two could prove to be just as fruitful \u2014 the show earned 16 nominations.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSeason two was so much about hedonic adaptation \u2014 how we as humans get so used to the new status quo that we get accustomed to \u2014 and I\u2019m trying not to do that with awards because I do want to have it feel that I am really grateful for it,\u201d Lee says. \u201cI want to enjoy every moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe showrunner opens up to THR<\/em> about making season two of the hit series and why he doesn\u2019t take the spotlight for granted.<\/p>\n

\nWhat was your biggest takeaway as a showrunner, writer and director about this season coming out and people\u2019s reaction to it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tThat people seem to be resonating with [material] born out of the intimate conversations and collaborations among the creatives on the show. So many people have come up to me about the Josh and Lindsay fight. An older couple might tell me it felt like we were inside their home. I think back on how that fight developed \u2014 not only was it born out of the writers room, but it was hours and hours of conversation with Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan. We rehearsed it and kept fine-tuning it, trying to remove any falsehoods. Carey would remember something about someone in her life, and in Oscar \u2014 it was really a melting pot of a variety of truths that every creative [on the show] brought and threw into the pot. It\u2019s cool to see that those specificities are what people respond to. There\u2019s the trite thing that networks often tell you when you\u2019re writing is in your specificity is where the universality will arise. You\u2019re like, \u201cOK, OK.\u201d But I\u2019m getting to see that in action.<\/p>\n

\nHas it made you think about your own writing a little differently going forward? <\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt just continually affirms, from season one into season two and on, just to keep trying to be myself and remain hyper-observational to the textures of life. For whatever reason, we as a collective consciousness seem to be very similar beings experiencing similar stimuli. The more I can self-reflect and examine myself and be like, \u201cOK, what intrusive thought have I not said out loud? What am I ashamed of?\u201d The more specific I can get with that [the better]. Then, suddenly, there\u2019s someone else in the world on the opposite side of the planet who\u2019s like, \u201cWait, I thought only I felt that.\u201d I think in our collective reckoning with these private parts of ourselves we start to make the whole thing feel lighter and then less alone. That continues to be my writing north star.<\/p>\n

\nFrom season one to season two, how do you feel the scale of what you\u2019re making changed? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Read more \u2018The Shards\u2019 Star Igby Rigney on His Bret Easton Ellis Take, the Cast Going \u201con a Real Bender\u201d to Shoot That Wild Party and Their Active Group Chat<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tNot too much. Because season one, the penultimate episode also had tons of action and everything came to a head at Jordan\u2019s mansion. In my opinion, I\u2019m very biased, but the work that our crew and cast put in this season felt like a graduation of season one, where season one felt very raw and grungy and almost so pure in emotion. Season two, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s better or worse \u2014 it\u2019s sort of a graduation and becoming a little bit more polished, a little bit more refined. The same fight at the skin clinic season one maybe would\u2019ve been handheld and not a oner. Whereas in season two, it starts to feel a little bit more elegant. That energy felt more appropriate for the energy of the narrative in season two because it\u2019s so much about time passing and love and generations, set at a country club. That different mood is probably the biggest difference rather than scale. If we were to ever do a season three \u2014 of which there are no plans right now \u2014 but if we ever were to do a season three, I hope to continually find different textures and different ways to paint the season because I just don\u2019t really like repeating myself.<\/p>\n

\nWith season one, you had a great awards run. Given the amount of nominations you received this year, it could play out similarly. Do you feel different about it this time? Does it feel perhaps a bit more comfortable?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt definitely feels different. Season two, the external pressures definitely go up because expectations have been set and a precedent exists. I feel that, but I try to drown it out the best I can. The thing I love about awards season is less about necessarily the numbers or necessarily matching anything of season one, but more it\u2019s a chance to celebrate people on the cast and crew that I\u2019m so extremely proud of.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s some exceptional work being done this season \u2014 obviously, our incredible cast that are nominees: Oscar, Carey, Charles Melton and Youn Yuh-jung; James Laxton, our DP; Olga Mill, our costume designer. It\u2019s a chance to shine a light on people that do not always get to have the spotlight. Our editors, Lauren Connelly and Laura Zempel, for example. That\u2019s really my favorite part of this because so many people work so hard on this. Also, it\u2019s like a double-edged sword because Cailee Spaeny and Finneas to me are as good as it gets performance-wise and score-wise. Having them not be nominated while others are, it\u2019s tough. But ultimately, I don\u2019t take the spotlight for granted.<\/p>\n

\nNow that you\u2019ve had time to sit with this season, how are you feeling about where things ended with the show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m so immensely proud of this season, and whether this is the last season of Beef<\/em> or there\u2019s more to come \u2014 it just really depends on the universe and what things inspire me going forward. But in the meantime, there\u2019s plenty on my plate. We\u2019re really in the thick of it on X-Men<\/em>. That\u2019s my focus right now \u2014 just writing something that my younger self would be proud of as a huge fan of the comics and the animated series. Then, in September, getting together with the Beef<\/em> family and getting to celebrate not only our hard work but also the hard work of so many of the amazing shows that have been nominated. It\u2019s been an incredible year for television. I just started Widow\u2019s Bay<\/em>. There\u2019s just so much interesting work that\u2019s pushing the medium of television forward.<\/p>\n

\nDid you get any surprise or fun outreach Emmy nomination morning?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIt was just texting a lot with the cast and crew, a couple of phone calls. We all got so close during the season that any time a day like this happens, we have multiple text chains, a lot of group threads. Even Cailee, who did not get nominated, which is a surprise to me, but she\u2019s an executive producer on the show and her work and performance also made everyone else look good, she called as well. We\u2019re all here supporting one another, I think because of how vulnerable we all were through the making of\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

\nThis story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Your Friends and Neighbors\u2019 Showrunner Is Surprised Jon Hamm Didn\u2019t Get an Emmy Nod: \u201cA Performance That Should\u2019ve Been Recognized\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lee Sung Jin reflects on 'Beef' Season 2, Emmy nominations, and the creative journey behind the hit anthology series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[245,443,826,827],"class_list":["post-5300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interesting","tag-awards","tag-beef","tag-emmy-awards","tag-emmys-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan Brought Their Own Backstories to the Lindsay-Josh Fight in \u2018Beef\u2019 Season 2 - US Property Moves<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uspropertymoves.com\/?p=5300\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan Brought Their Own Backstories to the Lindsay-Josh Fight in \u2018Beef\u2019 Season 2 - 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