Severance is an American science fiction psychological thriller television series created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle. It premiered February 18, 2022 and was quickly renewed for a second season.
Plot[]
A biotech corporation, Lumon Industries, uses the severance procedure to separate the non-work memories of some of their employees from their work memories. One severed employee gradually uncovers a web of conspiracy from both sides of the division.
Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives; when a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their jobs.
Cast and Characters[]
- Adam Scott as Mark Scout
- Britt Lower as Helena Eagan
- Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick
- Zach Cherry as Dylan George
- Jen Tullock as Devon Scout-Hale
- Michael Chernus as Ricken Hale
- Dichen Lachman as Gemma Scout
- Sarah Bock as Eustice Huang (Season 2)
- John Turturro as Irving Bailiff
- Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman
- Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel
Episodes[]
Supplemental Materials[]
- The Lexington Letter
- Welcome to Lumon
Production[]
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, Ben 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. On April 6, 2022, Apple renewed the series for a second season. On March 21, 2025, Apple renewed the series for a third season.
Filming[]
The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the initial production start of March 2020. 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. These computers lacked an escape key, as a metaphor for the lack of control the Innies have while in Lumon's offices.
The second season began filming on October 3, 2022, in New York City, and is set to wrap on May 12, 2023. The second season will also shoot in New Jersey.
Trivia[]
- Severance was met with critical acclaim upon its release.
Gallery[]
