# Severance (TV series)

Severance is an American science fiction psychological thriller television series created by Dan Erickson, and executive produced and primarily directed by Ben Stiller. It stars Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Jen Tullock, Dichen Lachman, Michael Chernus, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette, and Sarah Bock. The plot follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott), an employee of the fictional corporation Lumon Industries, who agrees to a "severance" program in which his workplace memories are separated from his primary, external memories.
Severance premiered on Apple TV+ on February 18, 2022. It has received widespread acclaim for its cinematography, direction, production design, musical score, story, and performances. The series received 14 nominations at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards and Creative Arts Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series and acting nominations for Scott, Turturro, Walken, and Arquette; it won for Main Title Design and musical score. The second season premiered on January 17, 2025.

## Premise

Employees at the biotechnology corporation Lumon Industries work on highly confidential projects after undergoing a procedure known as "severance." This medical process implants a device in their brains that splits their consciousness—erasing all memories of their personal lives while at work and preventing any recollection of their job once they leave. This results in two distinct personalities for each employee: the "innie," who only exists within the confines of Lumon, and the "outie," who remains unaware of their professional life.
Severed employee Mark Scout leads his coworkers Dylan George and Irving Bailiff at Lumon's Macrodata Refinement department. Mark must balance the challenges of managing his department, including the onboarding of a rebellious new innie, Helly Riggs, and his increasing disquiet at the cult-like Lumon. Mark's outie must deal with the personal tragedies that led to his decision to become severed, and the sudden overlap of his separate lives when mysteries from Lumon begin to intrude into his outie life.

## Cast and characters
### Main

* Adam Scott as Mark Scout (aka "Mark S."), a former history professor and a severed worker for Lumon Industries in the Macrodata Refinement (MDR) division, whose "outie" is grieving the death of his wife Gemma.
* Zach Cherry as Dylan George (aka "Dylan G."), Mark's severed co-worker in the MDR division, who particularly enjoys company perks.
* Britt Lower as Helly Riggs (aka "Helly R."), a rebellious new severed employee in the MDR department at Lumon. Helly is later revealed to be the "innie" of Helena Eagan, the daughter of Lumon CEO Jame Eagan who underwent severance to build support for the procedure. Her "innie" despises Lumon, putting her at odds with her "outie".
* Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick, the Deputy Manager on the severed floor at Lumon, who is promoted to Manager in Season 2.
* Jen Tullock as Devon Scout-Hale, Mark's sister.
* Dichen Lachman as Ms. Casey, who serves as the wellness counselor on the severed floor at Lumon. Ms. Casey is later revealed to be an "innie" of Gemma Scout, Mark's wife who is trapped on Lumon's testing floor as a test subject.
* Michael Chernus as Ricken Hale, an eccentric self-help author who is Devon's husband and Mark's brother-in-law.
* John Turturro as Irving Bailiff (aka "Irving B."), Mark's severed co-worker in the MDR department, who is a stickler for company policy and is drawn to Burt.
* Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman (aka "Burt G."), another severed employee and the head of the Optics and Design (O&D) division who is drawn to Irving.
* Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel, the manager of the severed floor at Lumon, who outside of work uses the false identity of "Mrs. Selvig", Mark's next-door neighbor and Devon's lactation consultant.
* Sarah Bock as Eustice Huang (season 2), the young new Deputy Manager of the Severed floor.

### Recurring

* Yul Vazquez as Peter "Petey" Kilmer, Mark's former severed co-worker and best friend in the MDR division, who left Lumon under mysterious circumstances.
* Michael Cumpsty as Doug Graner (season 1), the head of security on Lumon's severed floor.
* Nikki M. James as Alexa (season 1), Devon's midwife and one of Mark's love interests.
* Sydney Cole Alexander as Natalie Kalen, Lumon's PR representative and speaker for the mysterious Board.
* Nora Dale as Gabby Arteta (season 1), the wife of Senator Angelo Arteta, whom Devon encounters at a birthing retreat.
* Mark Kenneth Smaltz as Judd, security guard at Lumon.
* Donald Webber Jr. as Patton, a friend of Ricken's.
* Annie McNamara as Danise (season 1), a friend of Ricken's.
* Claudia Robinson as Felicia, a severed O&D division employee who is close with Burt.
* Karen Aldridge as Asal Reghabi, a former Lumon surgeon who performs reintegrations.
* Michael Siberry as Jame Eagan, the current CEO of Lumon.
* Darri Ólafsson as Mr. Drummond (season 2), an intimidating Lumon enforcer who is involved with severance operations.
* Merritt Wever as Gretchen George (season 2), Dylan's wife.
* Robby Benson as Dr. Mauer (season 2), a doctor on Lumon's testing floor.

### Guest

* Marc Geller as Kier Eagan, the late founder of Lumon, who is worshipped with cult-like devotion within the company; he is represented throughout the series in sculptures, paintings, and recordings.
* Cassidy Layton as June Kilmer, Petey's daughter.
* Joanne Kelly as Nina, Petey's ex-wife.
* Ethan Flower as Angelo Arteta, a Lumon-backed state senator who supports legalizing the severance procedure and is married to Gabby Arteta, with whom he has three children.
* Grace Rex as Rebeck, a friend of Ricken's.
* Rajat Suresh as Balf, a friend of Ricken's.
* Bob Balaban as Mark Wilkins (season 2), a new member of MDR, from Lumon branch 5X.
* Alia Shawkat as Gwendolyn Y. (season 2), a new member of MDR, from Lumon branch 5X.
* Stefano Carannante as Dario Rossi (season 2), a new member of MDR.
* Sarah Sherman (season 2) as the voice of a stop-motion water tower in a Lumon industrial film.
* Adrian Martinez as Mr. Saliba (season 2), a manager at a door factory who interviews Dylan for a position.
* Gwendoline Christie as Lorne (season 2), a severed employee running the Mammalians Nurturable division.
* John Noble as Fields (season 2), Burt's husband.
* Sandra Bernhard as Cecily (season 2), a nurse on the testing floor.
* James LeGros as Hampton (season 2), an acquaintance of Harmony Cobel from Salt's Neck.
* Jane Alexander as Celestine "Sissy" Cobel (season 2), Harmony's reclusive aunt in Salt's Neck.
Ben Stiller has an uncredited voice cameo as an animated version of Kier Eagan in season 1. Keanu Reeves has an uncredited voice cameo as an animated Lumon building in a Lumon industrial film in season 2.

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 9 | 9 | February 18, 2022 (2022-2-18) | April 8, 2022 (2022-4-8) |
| 2 | 10 | 10 | January 17, 2025 (2025-1-17) | March 21, 2025 (2025-3-21) |

### Season 1 (2022)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Good News About Hell" | Ben Stiller | Dan Erickson | February 18, 2022 (2022-2-18) |
| Mark Scout, who works in Lumon Industries' Macrodata Refinement (MDR) department, discovers he is being promoted to department head in light of his coworker Petey's sudden departure. His first task is to orient Helly, the replacement, who wakes up in a conference room with no memory of who or where she is. After being given an orientation and learning her name, she demands and is allowed to leave, but finds she is unable. She watches a video explaining that she has undergone the "severance" procedure, which split her memories to create a version of herself that will only exist inside the workplace. The "outside" version of Mark, a former professor grieving his wife Gemma's death and living in the Lumon-subsidized town of Kier, encounters Petey, who claims to have reversed his supposedly-permanent severance. Mark returns home and interacts with his neighbor "Mrs. Selvig", unaware that she is his senior manager Harmony Cobel. ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Half Loop" | Ben Stiller | Dan Erickson | February 18, 2022 (2022-2-18) |
| The previous day, Helly undergoes the severance procedure as a new employee, implanting a microchip inside her brain. At the office, the severed (or "Innie") Helly is introduced to her coworkers, Dylan and Irving, and is instructed that her job is to sort encrypted numbers into categories. During a welcome party headed by deputy floor manager Milchick, Helly attempts to escape by writing her outside self (or "Outie") a resignation note, but the elevator shuts down due to Lumon's built-in "code detectors", which prevent unauthorized communication between selves. Mark claims responsibility and is put into the "break room" as punishment. Irving hallucinates and sees a black liquid covering his desk and is administered a "wellness check", where counselor Ms. Casey recites vague facts about Irving's Outie, with Irving forced to react neutrally. At the wellness center, Irving meets Burt, head of the two-person Optics & Design (O&D) department. Outside, Petey explains he has "reintegration sickness" from reversing his severance. Petey tells Mark of the break room, and plays a recording of Mark being forced by Milchick to repeatedly recite a stringent apology. Mark gives Petey shelter in his house. While taking a shower, Petey hallucinates and collapses. ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "In Perpetuity" | Ben Stiller | Andrew Colville | February 25, 2022 (2022-2-25) |
| Petey tells Mark that mysterious benefactors helped him undergo the reintegration procedure. While Mark is at work, his sister Devon and brother-in-law Ricken deliver the latter's self-help book, The You You Are, to his doorstep, which Cobel steals and takes to Lumon to check for hidden messages. As she searches Mark's house, Petey recognizes her and flees, suffering more hallucinations and eventually collapsing at a convenience store. At the office, Helly learns her resignation request sent to her Outie has been denied. Mark thwarts her various attempts to smuggle other messages to her Outie. To help Helly understand why she is working at Lumon, Irving suggests they show her the office's Perpetuity Wing, which documents the history of Lumon's founder, Kier Eagan, and his succeeding dynasty. After attempting another escape, Helly is taken to the break room, where Milchick forces her to repeatedly recite an apologetic passage. Near his shift's end, Mark finds a hand-drawn map of Lumon's hallways left for him by Petey. After work, Mark follows ambulance traffic to the convenience store and witnesses Petey being carried away by paramedics. Mark rushes home to hide evidence of Petey's stay, but is interrupted when Petey's abandoned cellphone rings. ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The You You Are" | Aoife McArdle | Kari Drake | March 4, 2022 (2022-3-4) |
| Mark stashes away Petey's phone, noticing several missed calls from the same blocked number. The next day, Irving visits O&D, where he grows closer to Burt. He discovers Ricken's book, left behind by Milchick. Mark keeps the book, despite promising to give it to management. Helly returns from the break room after being forced to apologize over a thousand times. Mark shreds Petey's map after it is found by Helly. Helly finds a paper cutter and threatens self-mutilation unless she is granted a recorded resignation request. However, her Outie sends back a recording firmly denying both the request and her Innie's personhood. Later that night, Mark receives a news notification reporting that Petey has died. Mark and Cobel (as Mrs. Selvig) attend the funeral, during which Cobel secretly extracts Petey's severance chip. She then has Ms. Casey perform a "special" wellness session on Mark. Casey has Mark sculpt his emotional state out of clay; Mark sculpts a tree, which his Outie visited in remembrance of Gemma after Petey's funeral. Irving discovers that O&D actually has at least seven employees, working in a massive unlabelled back room. Helly smuggles out an extension cord and hangs herself in an elevator. ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design" | Aoife McArdle | Anna Ouyang Moench | March 11, 2022 (2022-3-11) |
| Helly is injured by her suicide attempt, but ultimately survives; she returns to work three days later. Mark continues to read Ricken's book, which carries strong anti-establishment sentiments. Outside work, Mark visits Devon and Ricken at a birthing lodge, where Devon gives birth. When Helly returns, Cobel orders Ms. Casey to watch her closely, but Mark sneaks Helly out of MDR and reveals he has been recreating Petey's map. When Mark tries to convince Helly to help with recreating the map, she initially refuses, but eventually agrees. Burt admits to Irving and Dylan that he lied about the size of O&D due to MDR being seen as untrustworthy; they realize Lumon is pitting the departments against one another. Burt takes the two to O&D's back room and introduces them to his employees. ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "Hide and Seek" | Aoife McArdle | Amanda Overton | March 18, 2022 (2022-3-18) |
| Lumon security chief Doug Graner informs Cobel that he has identified ex-employee Reghabi as responsible for Petey's reintegration. Irving and Burt admit their feelings to one another, but Irving admits he is not ready to commit to a relationship. Mark has Irving introduce MDR to O&D, where he calls for the departments to work together to uncover Lumon's secrets. However, Milchick finds them and sends Mark to the break room. Milchick later briefly awakens Dylan's Innie inside his Outie's home to locate a card Dylan stole from O&D, leading Dylan's Innie to discover he has a son. Cobel (as Mrs. Selvig) gets close to Devon and Ricken by acting as their lactation consultant. Mark goes on a date with Alexa, Devon's midwife, to a concert by Petey's daughter's punk-rock band, and sings along to an anti-Lumon protest song. Later, Mark finally answers Petey's phone and is contacted by Reghabi to meet at a nearby university. Cobel orders a keycard-locked door to be installed at the entrance to MDR. ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Defiant Jazz" | Ben Stiller | Helen Leigh | March 25, 2022 (2022-3-25) |
| While Mark is meeting with Reghabi, Graner enters the building—following a tip from campus security. Reghabi kills Graner and gives Mark his access card, telling him to take it to his Innie. Milchick engages in a "Music Dance Experience" with the department as a prize for Helly; Dylan refuses to participate and eventually attacks Milchick, enraged that he cannot know more about his child. After Milchick leaves, Dylan tells the rest of MDR about Lumon's ability to wake them up outside the severed floor, known as the "overtime contingency". The MDR team uses Graner's card to regain access to the hallways. Mark and Helly scheme to find the security office; inside, they find out how the overtime contingency is activated. Dylan offers to stay behind after hours to wake Mark and Helly up on the outside. Irving departs to O&D, worried about Burt's safety. Upon arrival, he discovers that Burt is retiring, and openly berates the non-severed Milchick for exploiting the severed employees. After work, Alexa visits a drunken Mark, who scares her off after ripping up a photo of Gemma. After she leaves, Mark reassembles the photo, revealing it to be Ms. Casey. ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "What's for Dinner?" | Ben Stiller | Chris Black | April 1, 2022 (2022-4-1) |
| Irving's Outie lives alone in an apartment, where he paints identical images of a dark corridor. Helly reaches 100% on her data refinement file, thereby meeting MDR's quota for the quarter. After a final wellness session with Mark, Ms. Casey is ordered by Cobel to be sent back down to the "testing floor", whose entrance matches Irving's paintings. While MDR celebrates quota, Cobel is suspended by Lumon's board for withholding knowledge of Helly's suicide attempt and her avocational activities as "Mrs. Selvig". The MDR team prepares for Dylan to remotely awaken them on the outside; Helly kisses Mark before departing. Mark's Outie attends Ricken's book-reading party and tells "Mrs. Selvig" that he plans to quit Lumon; she encourages him to do so. Dylan receives a "waffle party" as a reward for meeting quota, in which he dons a Kier Eagan mask and sits within a replica of Kier's bedroom in the Perpetuity Wing while ritualistic and seductive dances are performed in front of him. Dylan leaves midway to access the security office and activates the overtime contingency to awaken Mark, Irving, and Helly's Innies in the outside world. ||||||
| 9 | 9 | "The We We Are" | Ben Stiller | Dan Erickson | April 8, 2022 (2022-4-8) |
| Mark's Innie awakens in Devon's home and finds himself hugging "Mrs. Selvig". While excusing himself to find Devon, he calls Cobel by name, alerting her that the overtime contingency has been activated. Cobel calls Milchick to warn him. Mark privately reveals to Devon that he is his Innie; Devon tells him of Gemma's death and learns that "Mrs. Selvig" is Mark's boss. Irving wakes up in his apartment, discovering his Outie's paintings, and finds a map and employee directory which he uses to locate Burt. Helly wakes up at a Lumon gala where she learns that her Outie is Helena Eagan—daughter of Lumon CEO Jame Eagan—who underwent severance as a publicity stunt. Cobel races to the gala and attempts to stop Helly from making a scheduled speech. Helly gets onstage and tells the crowd of the Innies' subjugation and torment. Irving arrives at Burt's house only to find Burt is already in a relationship. Mark finds a photo showing Ms. Casey to be Gemma. He rushes to tell Devon, but is only able to say "She's alive!" before Milchick tackles Dylan, deactivating the overtime contingency and reverting the three back to their Outies. ||||||

### Season 2 (2025)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
| 10 | 1 | "Hello, Ms. Cobel" | Ben Stiller | Dan Erickson | January 17, 2025 (2025-1-17) |
| Mark reawakens on the severed floor in a panic, finding Ms. Casey's wellness room decommissioned, and his whole team replaced. Milchick, now running the severed floor, introduces Mark to new deputy manager Miss Huang—a child—and claims that five months have passed since the "Macrodat Uprising", which supposedly made Mark's team the faces of "severance reform". Milchick says that while Mark's Outie asked to come back to Lumon, the other three refused. Mark sabotages his new team as a distraction to reach the board and request the other Innies' return. The next time Mark wakes up on the severed floor, he reunites with Dylan, Helly, and Irving. The four are taken to a renovated Break Room, where Milchick promises better working conditions and offers the Innies a choice to leave permanently or stay. Mark informs the group what he learned while outside, while Helly lies about her Outie's identity. A distraught Irving nearly leaves over his heartbreak at Burt having a partner, but Dylan convinces him to stay. Milchick privately shows Dylan blueprints for an Outie family visitation suite. Having all chosen to stay, the team resumes its work. ||||||
| 11 | 2 | "Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig" | Sam Donovan | Mohamad El Masri | January 24, 2025 (2025-1-24) |
| Following the Overtime Contingency, Milchick is tasked with damage control and fires both Irving and Dylan; Irving lies to Milchick about his whereabouts that night. Helena, accompanied by security chief Mr. Drummond, meets with Cobel and offers her a promotion as a reward for her loyalty, but Cobel is insulted at not being offered her old job back. Helena films an apology video passing off her outburst at the gala as the result of intoxication. Milchick attempts to convince Mark to return to work, but Mark decides to quit, much to the dismay of Devon, who is concerned that Gemma is alive. Dylan attempts to find a new job but is discriminated against for being severed. Helena insists that Mark must return to work to finish the "Cold Harbor" file; Milchick convinces him to return by offering him a hefty pay raise and promises that the happiness his Innie receives will trickle back to him. After hearing Mark's plea to the board, Milchick rehires Dylan and Irving, while the board decides to send Helena back to work. Mark runs into Cobel while returning home and demands answers about Gemma, but she angrily drives off. ||||||
| 12 | 3 | "Who Is Alive?" | Ben Stiller | Wei-Ning Yu | January 31, 2025 (2025-1-31) |
| Mark and Helly go to hand out missing-persons posters of Ms. Casey across the severed floor. The two stumble upon the Mammalians Nurturable department; though initially hostile, the Mammalians reveal that Ms. Casey did sessions with them, and promise not to hinder MDR's search. Irving takes a missing poster to O&D, where he runs into Felicia, who identifies his sketch of the dark hallway from his Outie's paintings as the "Exports Hall". Dylan is granted a visitation with his Outie's wife, Gretchen. Natalie approaches Ricken to discuss adapting The You You Are for Innies. Cobel agrees to rejoin Lumon on the condition that she is rehired as Floor Manager. Helena instead suggests an impromptu meeting with the board, prompting Cobel to drive off. Mark and Devon attempt to burn an afterimage into his retinas to communicate with his Innie; Reghabi interrupts Mark, telling him his strategy will not work, and that reintegration is the only way to send messages in and out of Lumon. Mark agrees to the procedure after Reghabi confirms his wife is alive. As they begin conducting the process in Mark's basement, Mark flashes between the present and his orientation on the severed floor. ||||||
| 13 | 4 | "Woe's Hollow" | Ben Stiller | Anna Ouyang Moench | February 7, 2025 (2025-2-7) |
| MDR find themselves in the outside world on a frozen lake. A prerecorded message from Milchick informs them that they are on a team-building retreat, known as an ORTBO, and directs them to find the previously unrevealed fourth appendix to the Lumon handbook, written by Kier Eagan, by following the directions of strange doppelgängers of themselves. Upon taking the appendix to Woe's Hollow, a waterfall, they are greeted by Milchick and Miss Huang, who have set up a campsite. Helly is confronted by Irving about her suspicious account of her time during the Overtime Contingency. She retorts by claiming Irving is bitter about Burt's retirement, causing Irving to storm off. Helly and Mark have sex, after which Mark briefly hallucinates and sees Gemma's head on Helly's body. Irving sleeps outside, experiencing strange dreams. The next morning, Irving again confronts Helly. To force her to admit she is a mole, he yells for Milchick and begins drowning Helly in Woe's Hollow. Helly confirms that she has been Helena Eagan since her return to MDR, and Milchick is forced to revert her to Helly R. Milchick fires Irving and reverts him to his Outie. ||||||
| 14 | 5 | "Trojan's Horse" | Sam Donovan | Megan Ritchie | February 14, 2025 (2025-2-14) |
| Following the ORTBO, a reluctant Helena is compelled to continue working on the severed floor as her Innie until Mark completes the Cold Harbor file. Milchick fulfills Dylan's demand for a funeral for Irving. During the ceremony, Dylan realizes that Irving's final words to him reference a break room poster. Behind it, he discovers a card with directions to the Exports Hall, but quickly hides it again. Helly learns that Ms. Casey is Mark's Outie's wife, and Mark tells her he cannot trust her. Milchick undergoes his first performance review as department head, where Drummond admonishes his failed kindness reforms, demanding that the Innies be treated "as what they really are". Milchick confronts Mark, revealing he knows that Mark and Helena had sex during the retreat. Ricken begins work on the Lumon edition of The You You Are, laden with company propaganda, to Devon's dismay. Irving's Outie notices Burt watching him. Burt admits he has been following him since the Overtime Contingency and theorizes that they were romantically involved on the severed floor. He invites Irving to dinner with his husband, Fields. Mark, in a sudden flash to the severed floor while at home, sees Gemma alive. ||||||
| 15 | 6 | "Attila" | Uta Briesewitz | Erin Wagoner | February 21, 2025 (2025-2-21) |
| Dylan informs Mark and Helly about his discovery of Irving's instructions to reach the Exports Hall. Milchick takes time off to address the infractions in his performance review, leaving Miss Huang in charge. Mark confesses to Helly that he and Helena had sex during the ORTBO. Feeling that Helena stole this experience from her, Helly initiates sex with Mark. In the Outie Visitation Suite, Gretchen visits Dylan again and the two kiss. She later lies to Outie Dylan that the visitation was cancelled. Burt and Fields have Irving for dinner, and an awkward conversation unfolds. Meanwhile, Drummond breaks into Irving's apartment and discovers his directory of Lumon employees. Reghabi tells Mark they must accelerate the reintegration process by surgically "flooding" his severance chip, despite the risk of hemorrhage. Mark initially refuses but later encounters Helena at a restaurant; he leaves shortly after and decides to proceed with the procedure. While talking to Devon shortly after the procedure, Mark suffers a seizure and collapses. ||||||
| 16 | 7 | "Chikhai Bardo" | Jessica Lee Gagné | Dan Erickson & Mark Friedman | February 28, 2025 (2025-2-28) |
| In flashbacks, Mark and Gemma meet at a blood drive. The two go on to have a loving marriage which is eventually marred by difficulties conceiving a child. After a miscarriage, Gemma and Mark visit a fertility clinic run by Lumon. In the present, Gemma lives on the testing floor at Lumon, where every day she visits multiple rooms (which share the names of the MDR files) that correspond to an unpleasant situation experienced by a separate innie, overseen by Dr. Mauer. After she leaves the rooms, Mauer interviews her about her memories and emotions from the experiences. Meanwhile, as Mark lies unconscious, Reghabi confirms to Devon that Gemma is alive, and tells her Mark is voluntarily reintegrating. Reghabi leaves when Devon suggests calling Cobel for help. On the testing floor, when Gemma tells Mauer she wants to leave, he lies, saying that Mark remarried. Gemma knocks Mauer unconscious and steals his keycard. She attempts to escape via the elevator to the Severed Floor, but reverts to Ms. Casey, and Milchick redirects her back down the elevator. Mark awakens with Devon beside him, still recalling memories of Gemma. ||||||
| 17 | 8 | "Sweet Vitriol" | Ben Stiller | Adam Countee and K. C. Perry | March 7, 2025 (2025-3-7) |
| Cobel arrives in Salt's Neck, the seaside town she grew up in. The town has fallen on hard times, as the Lumon-owned factory that once supported it has closed, and much of the remaining population is addicted to the drug ether. Harmony visits her old friend Hampton, a cafe owner and ether dealer, who takes her secretly to Harmony's mother's house. Harmony's aunt, "Sissy" Cobel, is a Lumon devotee who attempts to prevent Harmony from entering her mother's old room, where she died after a long illness while Harmony was at a Lumon boarding school. Harmony finds the key to the room but falls asleep on her mother's bed. Hampton finds her, and they get high. Harmony decides to look inside the outdoor storeroom, where she finds her yearbook and her sketches of the severance procedure and chip, revealing she was the true inventor. Sissy attempts to burn the evidence but Harmony saves the pages and escapes in Hampton's truck, as an unknown car approaches the house. She then answers a phone call from Devon who informs her about Mark's reintegration. ||||||
| 18 | 9 | "The After Hours" | Uta Briesewitz | Dan Erickson | March 14, 2025 (2025-3-14) |
| On the day of the Cold Harbor file's expected completion, Mark does not show up to work. He and Devon meet with Cobel, who says that Gemma will die if Cold Harbor is completed. Mark calls in sick, promising Milchick he will come to work the next day. Gretchen confesses to Outie Dylan about her romance with his Innie; in response, Dylan threatens to quit his job. She later confides in Innie Dylan about their fight, tearfully saying goodbye. Heartbroken, Dylan submits a resignation form. Meanwhile, Burt—revealed to have worked as a Lumon operative, transporting persons of interest—breaks into Irving's apartment and takes him for a drive. They eventually reach a train station, where Burt buys Irving a ticket and says to never come back. The two share their feelings for each other, and Burt sees Irving off. Miss Huang completes her stint as deputy manager, and Milchick sends her away. Helly recovers the Exports Hall directions card and spends time memorizing it, but Jame Eagan shows up at MDR. At night, Cobel and Devon sneak Mark into a Severed cabin at the birthing lodge. Mark's Innie awakens in the cabin, where Cobel is waiting. ||||||
| 19 | 10 | "Cold Harbor" | Ben Stiller | Dan Erickson | March 21, 2025 (2025-3-21) |

## Production
### Background

While studying English at Western Washington University, Dan Erickson became interested in the theater department, writing short plays and other creative works. Soon after, Erickson attended New York University and received a master's degree in television writing. In 2016, his screenplay for the pilot of Severance appeared on Blood List's survey results of the best unproduced genre screenplays. Erickson conceived Severance in a period of depression working in an office job; he found the job was so monotonous that he wished he could "skip the eight hours of the workday, to disassociate and just get it over with". Erickson's siblings inspired some of the characters.

### Development

Erickson submitted his pilot script to Ben Stiller's production company Red Hour Productions in 2015, and it was passed to Stiller by the development executive Jackie Cohn. Stiller read it at least five years before Severance premiered, and said the project was "the longest thing I've ever worked on". He said he enjoyed the story's contributions to the workplace comedy. In January 2017, Stiller invited Adam Scott to star. Stiller and Scott had previously worked together in Stiller's 2013 movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. In November 2019, Apple TV+ gave Severance a series order, with Stiller directing and Scott in the leading role. Stiller was only attached to direct the pilot, but decided to direct more episodes as the series entered development. On April 6, 2022, Apple renewed the series for a second season. In April 2023, it was reported that Beau Willimon had been hired as an executive producer and writer for the second and potential third seasons. A January 2025 press release from Fifth Season parent company CJ ENM confirmed that a third season was in development, though the information was later removed.

### Writing

Media that influenced Severance include the Backrooms urban legend, the 2013 video game The Stanley Parable, films including Office Space, The Truman Show, Being John Malkovich, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the Black Mirror episode "White Christmas", and the comic strip Dilbert. Older influences include the existential hell in the 1944 Jean-Paul Sartre play No Exit and the totalitarian dystopia in the 1949 George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Aesthetically, the series was influenced by the films Brazil, Dark City, and Playtime.
Erickson said: "The same frustrations that led us to this moment as a country [United States] and as a world are the ones that I was feeling when I wrote this because I was working office jobs, and I was dealing with all these increasingly insane requests that are made of workers. This was born of that ... Employees are the ones who are expected to give and give and give, with the understanding that this is a family—you're doing this out of love, but then that is often not returned by the employers in any kind of a substantive way."
The Writers Guild of America West database lists new showrunners Eli Jorne and Mary Laws alongside Erickson for the third season, replacing Chris Black and Mark Friedman, who showran the first two seasons.

### Casting

In January 2020, Patricia Arquette, Britt Lower, Jen Tullock, and Zach Cherry were added to the cast. Tramell Tillman joined in February 2020, and John Turturro and Christopher Walken were added in November 2020. Dichen Lachman was cast in December 2020. Turturro said he recommended Walken for the role of Burt because he had known him for "a long time and I don't have to really act".
On October 31, 2022, Gwendoline Christie, Bob Balaban, Merritt Wever, Alia Shawkat, Robby Benson, Stefano Carannante, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, and John Noble were announced to have joined the cast for season two.

### Set design

Production designer Jeremy Hindle blended corporate looks from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s for the show's distinctive look, and cited modernist architect Eero Saarinen as influential for the building design. This included the John Deere World Headquarters in Moline, Illinois, and the Bell Labs Holmdel Complex in New Jersey (the latter which served as both the exterior shots and the ground floor interiors for Lumon Industries), both buildings designed as "work designed to do work" according to Hindle. The set designs of Playtime also served as inspiration for the internal sets. The main sets for Severance were created on soundstages in the Bronx. One soundstage was used for the hallways within Lumon, using around 140 feet (43 m) of hallway that they would rearrange as necessary, along with special effects, to create the maze-like structure. Another soundstage used larger hallways that were used in latter episodes of the first season. A second soundstage was used for main rooms like the Macrodata Refinement Division. This space was designed to create the feeling of being trapped, using a large room (80 by 40 feet (24 m × 12 m)) with a low ceiling. Hindle also felt this room was meant to be a playroom for the newest Lumon hires, and gave it green carpeting in contrast with the whites to make it feel like grass. Other spaces with Lumon were inspired by the works of M.C. Escher.
Erickson said the mix of cars and technologies from different eras was meant to "give a slight sense of disorientation" and make Lumon "feel unmoored from time and space". To this purpose, the production team sourced an anachronistic collection of 400 cars, largely commonplace boxy vehicles from the 1980s and 1990s, all in remarkably good condition. Each car, even in the far background, was intentionally placed to curate the retro science fiction aesthetic. Characters' cars, chosen to show more of who they are, include Mark's Volvo S90, Cobel's Volkswagen Rabbit, Helena's Lincoln Continental, and Milchick's Royal Enfield. All the office equipment is labeled as Lumon products. The prop designers reconstructed old computers with functional trackball devices so the actors could actually do the work presented on the show in order to get adjusted to the office setting. These computers lacked an escape key, as a metaphor for the lack of control the innies have while in Lumon's offices.

### Filming

The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the initial production start of March 2020. Principal photography for the first season started in New York City under the working title Tumwater on November 8, 2020. The opening scene of the show was shot on January 6, 2021. The series filmed for a few days in February in Nyack, New York for the homes of Mark and Cobel, and in Kingston and Beacon, New York in March. In April, filming moved to central New Jersey, mainly in the Bell Labs Holmdel Complex which stood in for Lumon HQ. Filming was scheduled to conclude on June 23, 2021.
The second season began filming on October 3, 2022, in New York City, and was set to wrap on May 12, 2023. However, on May 8, 2023, production of the season was shut down due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Production had resumed by May 13, 2023, with filming occurring in Newfoundland. Filming was later shut down again due to the dual actors and writers strike, but resumed on January 29, 2024, and wrapped on April 23, 2024.

## Reception
### Critical response

Critical response of Severance :
| Season | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
| 1 | 97% (117 reviews) | 83 (36 reviews) |
| 2 | 96% (176 reviews) | 86 (43 reviews) |
Both seasons of Severance have received critical acclaim. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the overall series holds an approval rating of 96%. Meanwhile, on Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the overall series has received a score of 85 out of 100.

#### Season 1

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season of Severance has an approval rating of 97% based on 117 reviews, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The website's consensus reads: "Audacious, mysterious, and bringing fresh insight into the perils of corporate drudgery, Severance is the complete package." Metacritic assigned a score of 83 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
The series received a rating of five out of five from Lucy Mangan of The Guardian and Rachael Sigee of I, 4 out of 5 stars from Huw Fullerton of Radio Times, John Nugent of Empire, Alan Sepinwall of Rolling Stone and Anita Singh of The Telegraph, and 3.5 out of 4 stars from Patrick Ryan of USA Today. In her review, Mangan praised Stiller's direction, the writing, and the performances of the cast (particularly those of Arquette, Turturro, Walken, and Tillman). Sigee also praised the performances, especially Scott's, Arquette's, Turturro's and Walken's, and wrote, "Severance moves slowly but surely, allowing time to absorb both the impressive world-building and stunning visuals, [...] [and] its breathtaking cinematography and design. With an exceptional cast [...], this is an original, weird, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted story that asks just how much of ourselves we should give over to our jobs." Fullerton also praised Scott's performance and called the series "an impressive creation". Nugent praised the direction, performances of Scott, Arquette, Turturro and Walken, and chemistry between the latter two. Sepinwall also praised Stiller's direction and the cast's performances (most notably those of Scott, Turturro, Walken, Lower and Tillman), in addition to the production design, tone, and season finale.
Grading the series an "A", Carly Lane of Collider wrote, "the most engrossing element of Severance is the many mysteries it presents, wrapped up in silent overarching questions of philosophy, morality, and free will versus choice, and as the series demonstrates, some of those questions aren't so easily solved, but some issues aren't as black-and-white as initially presented either." Also grading it an "A", Ben Travers of IndieWire wrote, "Whether you invest in the allegory, character arcs, or both, 'Severance' hits its marks. [...] Erickson and his writing staff deserve a ton of credit. The season plays out cleanly and efficiently; episodes range from nearly 60 minutes to a crisp 40; cliffhangers abound, but they're earned. [...] This is serialized storytelling that knows how to make the most of its episodic format." Stephen Robinson of The A.V. Club gave it an "A-" grade and praised Stiller's direction and the cast, with the performances of Lower, Scott, Tillman, Turturro, Walken, Tullock and Cherry singled out. For Entertainment Weekly, Kristen Baldwin graded it a "B+" and highlighted the performances of Scott, Lower and Tillman, writing, "Scott is a superb fit for Severance's central everyman, [...] Lower brings an effective vulnerability to the acerbic Helly, and Tramell Tillman is an absolute force of charisma as Milchick."
Giving the series a score of nine out of ten, Samantha Nelson of IGN wrote, "Severance [...] uses a clever premise and excellent cast to set up an intriguing mystery that leaves plenty of room for the characters to evolve." Writing for Paste, Shane Ryan gave it an 8.1 out of 10 and praised the performances of Scott, Arquette and Tillman as well as Stiller and McArdle's direction. Kyle Mullin of Under the Radar gave it eight out of ten and said, "Severance's writer/creator Dan Erickson is another newcomer who pens scenes with veteran-level aplomb. Every scene is a Golden Age of TV gem in its own right. But Severance's dramatic heart resides at the workplace, where it also becomes a white-knuckle thriller. This is where director Ben Stiller especially shines, training his lens and setting the scenes [...]. He certainly brings the best out of his cast."
The American Film Institute named it one of the ten best television programs of the year.

#### Season 2

The second season has an approval rating of 96% based on 176 reviews and an average rating of 8.85/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. The website's consensus reads: "Masterfully managing its two halves of adroit character study and surreal nightmare, Severance's long-awaited sophomore season makes cognitive dissonance a mind-melting pleasure." Metacritic assigned a score of 86 out of 100 based on 43 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Writing for Variety, Alison Herman awarded the second season with a perfect rating, noting: "Season 2 fulfills this sine qua non with deceptive ease. Real-time viewers have had their patience strained; future binge-watchers will barely notice a blip." John Nugent of Empire gave season two 4 stars out of 5, while stating: "After a storming Season One, Season Two expands and deepens the original mysteries while opening up new ones. Sharply made and skilfully executed, the employee benefits are there if you stay with it."

### Accolades

Accolades received by Severance :
| Award | Year | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
| AACTA International Awards | 2023 | Best Drama Series | Severance | Nominated | |
| American Film Institute Awards | 2022 | Top 10 Programs of the Year | Severance | Won | |
| Art Directors Guild Awards | 2023 | Excellence in Production Design for a One-Hour Contemporary Single-Camera Series | Jeremy Hindle (for "Good News About Hell") | Won | |
| Artios Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Television Pilot and First Season Drama Series | Rachel Tenner, Bess Fifer, Rick Messina | Nominated | |
| Cinema Audio Society Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series – One Hour | Bryan Dembinski, Bob Chefalas, Chris Fogel, George A. Lara (for "The We We Are") | Nominated | |
| Critics' Choice Awards | 2023 | Best Drama Series | Severance | Nominated | |
| Critics' Choice Awards | 2023 | Best Actor in a Drama Series | Adam Scott | Nominated | |
| Critics' Choice Super Awards | 2023 | Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or Made-for-TV Movie | Adam Scott | Won | |
| Critics' Choice Super Awards | 2023 | Best Actress in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or Made-for-TV Movie | Patricia Arquette | Won | |
| Directors Guild of America Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series | Aoife McArdle (for "Hide and Seek") | Nominated | |
| Directors Guild of America Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series | Ben Stiller (for "The We We Are") | Nominated | |
| Dorian Awards | 2022 | Best TV Drama | Severance | Nominated | |
| Dorian Awards | 2022 | Most Visually Striking Show | Severance | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe Awards | 2023 | Best Television Series – Drama | Severance | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe Awards | 2023 | Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama | Adam Scott | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe Awards | 2023 | Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series – Comedy/Musical or Drama | John Turturro | Nominated | |
| Golden Reel Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Broadcast Long Form Dialogue and ADR | Jacob Ribicoff, David Briggs, Gregg Swiatlowski (for "The We We Are") | Nominated | |
| Golden Reel Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Achievement in Music Editing – Broadcast Long Form | Missy Cohen, Sam Zeines, Felipe Pacheco (for "The We We Are") | Nominated | |
| Gotham Independent Film Awards | 2022 | Breakthrough Series – Long Form | Severance | Nominated | |
| Gotham Independent Film Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Performance in a New Series | Britt Lower | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | 2022 | Best Streaming Series, Drama | Severance | Won | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | 2022 | Best Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama | Adam Scott | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | 2022 | Best Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama | Britt Lower | Won | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama | Zach Cherry | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama | Tramell Tillman | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama | John Turturro | Won | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama | Christopher Walken | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama | Patricia Arquette | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama | Dichen Lachman | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | 2022 | Best Directing in a Streaming Series, Drama | Aoife McArdle (for "The You You Are") | Nominated | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | 2022 | Best Directing in a Streaming Series, Drama | Ben Stiller (for "The We We Are") | Won | |
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | 2022 | Best Writing in a Streaming Series, Drama | Dan Erickson (for "The We We Are") | Won | |
| Hollywood Music in Media Awards | 2022 | Original Score — TV Show/Limited Series | Theodore Shapiro | Nominated | |
| Hugo Awards | 2023 | Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form | Dan Erickson, Ben Stiller, Aoife McArdle, and writing staff | Nominated | |
| Irish Film & Television Awards | 2023 | Director – Television Drama | Aoife McArdle | Nominated | |
| Independent Spirit Awards | 2023 | Best New Scripted Series | Severance | Nominated | |
| Independent Spirit Awards | 2023 | Best Lead Performance in a New Scripted Series | Adam Scott | Nominated | |
| Independent Spirit Awards | 2023 | Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series | Tramell Tillman | Nominated | |
| Peabody Award | 2022 | Entertainment | Severance | Won | |
| People's Choice Awards | 2022 | The Bingeworthy Show of 2022 | Severance | Nominated | |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series | Rachel Tenner and Bess Fifer | Nominated | |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Main Title Design | Oliver Latta and Teddy Blanks | Won | |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) | Theodore Shapiro (for "The We We Are") | Won | |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music | Theodore Shapiro | Nominated | |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More) | Jeremy Hindle, Nick Francone, Angelica Borrero-Fortier, and Andrew Baseman (for "Good News About Hell") | Nominated | |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series | Erica Freed Marker and Geoffrey Richman (for "In Perpetuity") | Nominated | |
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series | Geoffrey Richman (for "The We We Are") | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Drama Series | Ben Stiller, Nicholas Weinstock, Jackie Cohn, Mark Friedman, Dan Erickson, Andrew Colville, Chris Black, John Cameron, Jill Footlick, Kari Drake, Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, Aoife McArdle, Amanda Overton, and Gerry Robert Bryne | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Adam Scott (for "Good News About Hell") | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | John Turturro (for "Defiant Jazz") | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Christopher Walken (for "The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design") | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Patricia Arquette (for "What's for Dinner?") | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Ben Stiller (for "The We We Are") | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | Dan Erickson (for "The We We Are") | Nominated | |
| Producers Guild of America Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama | Severance | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | 2023 | Best Drama Series | Severance | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | 2023 | Best Actor in a Drama / Genre Series | Adam Scott | Nominated | |
| Saturn Awards | 2022 | Best Streaming Horror/Thriller Television Series | Severance | Nominated | [116] [117] |
| Saturn Awards | 2022 | Best Actor in a Streaming Television Series | Adam Scott | Nominated | [116] [117] |
| Saturn Awards | 2022 | Best Actress in a Streaming Television Series | Britt Lower | Nominated | [116] [117] |
| Saturn Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Television Series | Zach Cherry | Nominated | [116] [117] |
| Saturn Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Television Series | John Turturro | Nominated | [116] [117] |
| Saturn Awards | 2022 | Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Television Series | Patricia Arquette | Nominated | [116] [117] |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series | Adam Scott | Nominated | |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Patricia Arquette, Michael Chernus, Zach Cherry, Michael Cumpsty, Dichen Lachman, Britt Lower, Adam Scott, Tramell Tillman, Jen Tullock, John Turturro, Christopher Walken | Nominated | |
| Set Decorators Society of America Awards | 2022 | Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a One Hour Contemporary Series | Andrew Baseman and Jeremy Hindle | Nominated | |
| Society of Composers & Lyricists Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Score for Television | Theodore Shapiro | Nominated | |
| Television Critics Association Awards | 2022 | Program of the Year | Severance | Nominated | |
| Television Critics Association Awards | 2022 | Outstanding Achievement in Drama | Severance | Nominated | |
| Television Critics Association Awards | 2022 | Outstanding New Program | Severance | Nominated | |
| Television Critics Association Awards | 2022 | Individual Achievement in Drama | Adam Scott | Nominated | |
| Venice TV Awards | 2023 | Best TV Series | Severance | Nominated | |
| Visual Effects Society Awards | 2023 | Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode | Vadim Turchin, Nicole Melius, David Piombino, David Rouxel (for "Pilot") | Nominated | |
| Webby Awards | 2022 | Best Actor | Adam Scott | Won | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | 2023 | Drama Series | Chris Black, Andrew Colville, Kari Drake, Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman, Helen Leigh, Anna Moench, Amanda Overton | Won | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | 2023 | New Series | Chris Black, Andrew Colville, Kari Drake, Dan Erickson, Mark Friedman, Helen Leigh, Anna Moench, Amanda Overton | Won | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | 2023 | Episodic Drama | Dan Erickson (for "The We We Are") | Nominated | |
The first season was recognized with The ReFrame Stamp for hiring people of underrepresented gender identities, and of color.

## Marketing

The second season was teased during the Apple Event on September 7, 2022, which featured Helly (Britt Lower). The first footage from season 2 was released on June 10, 2024, as part of a promo for upcoming Apple TV+ programming.
On July 9, 2024, a post on the Apple TV+ account on social media platform X teased an announcement about season 2. In the video, a light appears to blink in Morse code and spell out the word "tomorrow". The next day on July 10, Apple TV+ confirmed that season 2 will debut on January 17, 2025. The first trailer for season 2 was released on October 23, 2024.
On January 14, 2025, two days before the premiere of the second season, Apple TV+ recreated the show's 'Macrodata Refinement' office inside a glass box at Grand Central Terminal. Actors Scott, Cherry, Arquette, Lower, and Tillman entered the glass box and behaved as though they were working their respective jobs at Lumon Industries for about two and a half hours. The pop-up's uniqueness and the cast's dedication generated largely favorable responses from the public.

## Home media

The first season was released in the UK on Blu-ray and DVD on December 2, 2024, in Australia on December 4, 2024, and in the United States on December 17, 2024.

## Other media

An epistolary novel related to the series, Severance: The Lexington Letter, was released by Apple Books purporting to be a "tell-all" exposé of sinister occurrences at Lumon Corporation, in the form of a dialogue between former Lumon employee Margeret "Peg" Kincaid and her innie (work self), sent as a letter to a Topeka newsletter.
A fictional self-help book from the series, The You You Are, was released by Apple Books as an e-book and an audiobook, the latter read by the actor Michael Chernus in his role as Ricken Hale.