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, Sarah Bock and Patricia Arquette. The series follows employees at the biotechnology corporation Lumon Industries that have undergone "severance"—a medical procedure that ensures they retain no memories of the outside world while at work, and have no recollection of their job once they leave. This results in two distinct personalities for each employee: the "innie", who exists solely within Lumon, and the "outie", who lives their personal life outside of work.
Severance premiered on Apple TV+ on February 18, 2022. It received critical acclaim for its cinematography, direction, production design, musical score, story, and performances. It 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. Severance was renewed for a third season on March 21, 2025.
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.
Erickson conceived of Severance in a period of depression working an office job at a door factory after he had completed his master's degree in television writing. He found the job so monotonous that he wished he could "skip the eight hours of the workday, to disassociate and just get it over with".
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. Erickson has described his earlier versions of the pilot as "weirder" and containing many stray elements with no backstory such as a disembodied pair of legs running by Mark, a charred floor with burnt desks, and a woman trapped in a glass cubicle. Erickson credits Stiller with grounding the show, saying "he felt that the concept was weird enough that you didn't have to throw a bunch of other Terry Gilliam-esque bells and whistles at it." According to Erickson, "Ben fell in love with the part of the show that was this weird human sadness of a person who would willingly do this to himself."
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. On March 21, 2025, shortly after the premiere of the season 2 finale, Apple announced the renewal of the series for a third season. 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 alongside Erickson.
Media that influenced Severance include the The Backrooms creepypasta, 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's siblings inspired some of the characters. In 2016, his screenplay for the pilot of Severance appeared on Blood List's survey results of the best unproduced genre screenplays.
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."
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 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. Stiller offered former U.S. President Barack Obama a voice cameo role in the second season, but he declined; the role eventually went to Keanu Reeves.
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 end, the production team sourced an anachronistic collection of 400 cars, largely commonplace boxy vehicles from the 1980s and 1990s, all in relatively good condition. Each car, even in the far background, was intentionally placed to curate the retro science fiction aesthetic. Characters' vehicles, 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 motorcycle. All the office equipment carries Lumon branding. The prop designers reconstructed old computers with functional trackball devices so the actors could perform the work presented on the show in order to get adjusted to the office setting. The computers lacked an escape key, as a metaphor for the lack of control the innies have while in Lumon's offices. The computer terminals were modeled from the Data General Dasher terminals from the 1970s and the keycaps were recreated by Signature Plastics, who also made the original keycaps for the 1970s Dasher terminals. The keycap set was re-released in 2025 under the name "SA Macrodata Refinement".
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 both the actors strike and the writers strike, but resumed on January 29, 2024, and wrapped on April 23, 2024.
In 2025, Severance became the most watched series in the history of Apple TV+.
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.
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.
The second season has an approval rating of 95% based on 212 reviews and an average rating of 8.9/10 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."
The first season was recognized with The ReFrame Stamp for hiring people of underrepresented gender identities, and of color.
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 blinks the word "tomorrow" in Morse code. The next day on July 10, Apple TV+ announced that season 2 would debut on January 17, 2025. The first trailer for season 2 was released on October 23, 2024.
On January 14, 2025, three 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.
On March 21, 2025, IKEA India and Australia posted the same advertisement promoting office supplies replicating a similar set up to the Macrodata Refinement office. The tagline pokes fun at the "mysterious and important work" joke that is completed by the office workers.
On March 26, 2025, some cast members appeared at Tower Bridge in London to celebrate the renewal of season 3. Cast members included Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, and Gwendoline Christie. At the event were balloons with Adam Scott's face, referencing a visual motif prevalent throughout season 2.
The official release dates of second season episodes were on Fridays, but Apple TV+ released episodes the prior Thursday at 9:00 pm ET.
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.
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.
The official Severance podcast premiered in January 2025, hosted by Ben Stiller and Adam Scott. Each episode of the podcast recaps an episode of the series, and features interviews with an actor, crew member, or fan of the show.