AsApple TV+‘sPachinkoexpertly adapts Min Jin Lee’s novel into an Emmy-nominated hit series, it does so through phenomenal performances, stunning cinematography, and excellent handling and reworking of the source material. However, there’s one aspect thatshowrunner Soo Hugh says doesn’t get anywhere near enough love… the score.Pachinkois full of amazing needle-drop moments, from its iconic opening credits to the various hit songs from bands like The Cure during the scenes set in the 1980s. However, much of the show’s emotional weight is elevated by beautiful original scores by composer Nico Muhly.
During MovieWeb’s conversation with Soo Hugh andPachinko’s co-lead Jin Ha, ahead of the upcoming second season, Hugh discussed Muhly’s phenomenal music, and how she used it to expandthe world ofPachinkoin Season 2.Hugh explained the stylistic differences between the first and second seasons. Season 2 jumps forward in time as it explores the younger Sunja’s (Minha Jim) early life in Japan.Moving from the late ’30s to 1945, Hugh wanted the score to reflect that and explained the techniques used by Nico Muhly during production. She explained:
“I feel like Nico deserves all the gold in the world for what he does in the show. One of the things we said about Season 2 iswe wanted to bring a lot more of a jazzier asyncopation to the score. In Season One, we favored the strings, the cellos, the pianos. And in season two, we wanted the world to feel bigger, and musically bigger as well. Sowe brought in a lot more brass and woodwinds and more percussion.”
Pachinko Season 2’s Most Emotional Scene Features An Unlikely Score
Expert filmmaking is the culmination of a whole host of different elements all done to perfection by a crew of dedicated and innovative artists.Scores are often overlookedin film and TV by general audiences. However, it does much of the heavy lifting during dark, emotional, and moving scenes, and movies and hit shows would feel underwhelming without it. AsPachinkoreveals the story of four generations of the Baek family over the course of 60+ years,Nico Muhly’s score accompanies the family’s journey and sets the tone for Sunja’s harrowing early life.
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During our conversation, Soo Hugh teased how she developed one of Season 2’s most emotional scenes, and how Nico Muhly’s work elevated the scene far beyond her expectations. Discussing a scene involving Solomon (Jin Ha) and Naomi (Anna Sawai), Nico Muhly wanted to experiment with the score, using the last instrument Soo Hugh expected to play during the emotional moment. She explained, “There’s this perfect example of what Nico does so well. There’s a scene in episode six between Solomon and Naomi. And I said, ‘Nico, don’t push it too hard. We don’t need to push in terms of making this too sad.'”
His response was surprising, Hugh told us:
“And he said, ‘Soo, I want to send you something. You’re going to want to when you listen to it. Have an open mind, but I’m gonna use a trombone.’ I remember when he said that, I was like, ‘What? I don’t want to hear a trombone. Nico, that’s gonna sound terrible.’ And if you listen to the score on that scene, there is one trombone that plays this note, and it is the most allegiant note. And it was Nico’s genius that he really heard that instrument then, and it’s beautiful.”
PachinkoSeason 2 premieres on Apple TV+ on July 24, 2025. Subsequent episodes will be released weekly. Check out the latest trailer below:
