Severance (TV series)
Severance is an American science fiction psychological thriller streaming television series created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle. It stars Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Jen Tullock, Dichen Lachman, Michael Chernus, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and Patricia Arquette. The plot follows Mark (Scott), an employee of Lumon Industries who agrees to a "severance" program in which his non-work memories are separated from his work memories. The series premiered on Apple TV+ on February 18, 2022. Critics praised its story and performances and, in April 2022, it was renewed  for a second season. Premise. A sinister technology corporation, Lumon Industries, uses a "severance" medical procedure to separate the non-work memories of some of their employees from their work memories. One severed employee, Mark, gradually uncovers a web of conspiracy from both sides of the division. Cast and characters. Guest. Ben Stiller has an uncredited voice cameo as an animated version of Kier Eagan. Production. Development. Ben Stiller first read the screenplay to the pilot episode at least five years before the show premiered, calling it "the longest thing I've ever worked on." The script was submitted by  Dan Erickson as a writing sample to Stiller's production company Red Hour Productions, and passed to Stiller by development executive Jackie Cohn. Stiller said he enjoyed the story's contributions to the workplace comedy. In January 2017, Stiller invited Adam Scott to star. In November 2019, Apple TV+ gave "Severance" a series order, with Stiller directing and Scott cast in the leading role. Stiller was only attached to direct the pilot but he decided to direct several more episodes as the series entered development. 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 like we're friends." On April 6, 2022, Apple renewed the series for a second season. Media that influenced "Severance" included The Backrooms creepypasta, "The Stanley Parable", and "The Truman Show". 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" in November 2020, the day after the U.S. presidential election. The opening scene of the show was shot on January 6, 2021. The series filmed for a few days in Nyack in February and in Kingston and Beacon 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. 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. Stiller said the prop master reconstructed old computers so the actors could actually do the work presented on the show in order to get adjusted to the office setting. Reception. Critical response. "Severance" was met with critical acclaim upon its release. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 83 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".