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Lee Sung Jin, creator of "Beef," needed just three appetizers to convince Charles Melton to join the Netflix anthology series' second season. The showrunner said he pitched Melton over dinner, and the actor agreed to sign on before the meal was over.
The casting coup comes on the heels of a banner year for Lee. Season 2 of "Beef" earned 16 Emmy nominations, the most of any limited or anthology series in 2026, and has already picked up three wins at the Creative Arts Emmys.
The recognition also made Lee Sung Jin the first Asian television creator to receive multiple nominations in writing, directing, and producing for the same series, and he's now done it twice.
The director was determined to land the meeting himself rather than wait for a formal audition process; he called up Gold House founder Bing Chen, Gold House being the organization that champions Asian American excellence and was hosting the dinner, to cash in a favor and secure a seat next to Melton.
Lee, whose first season of "Beef" had recently won eight Emmy Awards, said he lobbied organizers for a seat next to Melton, explaining that he planned to pitch the actor on joining Season 2.
Once the two were at the table, Lee didn't wait and began making his case for Melton to join "Beef" almost as soon as they sat down.
The actor, still riding the acclaim of his Gotham Award- and Golden Globe-nominated turn in "May December," didn't need much convincing.
Melton has since recalled the encounter himself, calling it "a moment" and joking that Lee's version undersells how fast he actually caved. Saying he'd agreed around the second appetizer, not the third.
As an anthology, "Beef" swaps out its core cast each season.
The first season starred Steven Yeun and Ali Wong in an Emmy-sweeping story of road rage gone catastrophic, while Melton now leads a new ensemble alongside Cailee Spaeny, Oscar Isaac, and Carey Mulligan in a story set at a country club.
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