Severance (TV series)

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Severance
Both lying in bed, a man stares at another man's work card.
Title card
Genre <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Created by Dan Erickson
Directed by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Composer(s) Theodore Shapiro
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 9
Production
Executive producer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Producer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Adam Scott
  • Patricia Arquette
  • Aoife McArdle
  • Amanda Overton
  • Gerry Robert Byrne
Cinematography <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Jessica Lee Gagné
  • Matt Mitchell
Editor(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Geoffrey Richman
  • Gershon Hinkson
  • Erica Freed Marker
Running time 40–57 minutes
Production company(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Distributor Apple Inc.
Release
Original network Apple TV+
Picture format 4K UHDTV
HDR / Dolby Vision
Audio format Dolby Digital / Dolby Atmos
Original release February 18, 2022 (2022-02-18) –
present (present)
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Severance is an American science fiction psychological thriller 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. It received acclaim from critics and audiences, who praised its cinematography, production design, musical score, story, and performances (especially Scott). The series received 14 nominations at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards including Outstanding Drama Series and acting nods for Scott, Turturro, Walken, and Arquette. In April 2022, the series was renewed for a second season.

Premise

A 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

Main

  • Adam Scott as Mark Scout, a worker for Lumon Industries in the Macrodata Refinement division who is part of the "severance" program. He is grieving the death of his wife Gemma.
  • Zach Cherry as Dylan George, Mark's severed co-worker who particularly enjoys company perks.[2]
  • Britt Lower as Helly Riggs, a new employee who replaces Petey.
  • Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick, the supervisor on the severed floor.
  • Jen Tullock as Devon Hale, Mark's pregnant sister, who later gives birth to baby Eleanor.
  • Dichen Lachman as Ms. Casey, the wellness counselor on the severed floor.
  • Michael Chernus as Ricken Hale, Devon's husband, a self-help author.
  • John Turturro as Irving Bailiff, Mark's severed co-worker who is a stickler for company policy and drawn to Burt.
  • Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman, the severed chief of the Optics and Design division who is drawn to Irving.
  • Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel, Mark's boss and Mrs. Selvig, Mark's next-door neighbor.

Recurring

  • Yul Vazquez as Peter "Petey" Kilmer, an ex-severed Lumon worker and Mark's best friend who was fired under mysterious circumstances.
  • Michael Cumpsty as Doug Graner, the head of security on Lumon's severed floor.
  • Nikki M. James as Alexa, Devon's midwife.
  • Sydney Cole Alexander as Natalie, Lumon's PR representative and liaison for its board of trustees.
  • Nora Dale as Gabby Arteta, a new mother married to Senator Angelo Arteta. She underwent severance to avoid the pain of childbirth.
  • Claudia Robinson as Felicia, Optics employee at Lumon.
  • Mark Kenneth Smaltz as Judd, security guard at Lumon.

Guest

  • Marc Geller as Kier Eagan, the founder of Lumon Industries, who is worshipped with cult-like devotion within the company. Despite his death, he is represented though sculptures, paintings, and recordings.
  • Michael Siberry as Jame Eagan, the current CEO of Lumon Industries.
  • Joanne Kelly as Nina, Petey's ex-wife.
  • Cassidy Layton as June, Petey's daughter.
  • 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.
  • Karen Aldridge as Reghabi, a former Lumon surgeon who reintegrated Petey.

Ben Stiller has an uncredited voice cameo as an animated version of Kier Eagan.[3]

Episodes

No. Title Directed by Written by Original release date [4]
1 "Good News About Hell" Ben Stiller Dan Erickson February 18, 2022 (2022-02-18)
A woman wakes up in a conference room with no memory of who or where she is. After being given a survey and learning she is Helly, a new hire at Lumon Industries, she is allowed to leave but finds she is unable to do so. She then sees a video explaining that she has undergone the "severance" procedure, which bifurcated her memories to create a version of herself that will only exist inside the workplace. Mark Scout, who works alongside Helly in Lumon's Macrodata Refinement division, discovers he is being promoted to department head in light of coworker Petey's sudden departure. The "outside" version of Mark, a former history professor grieving his wife's death and living in the Lumon-subsidized town of Kier, encounters a man claiming to be Petey who gives him a letter with cryptic instructions. Mark returns home and interacts with his neighbor Mrs. Selvig, unaware that she is his boss, senior manager Harmony Cobel.
2 "Half Loop" Ben Stiller Dan Erickson February 18, 2022 (2022-02-18)
The previous day, Helly undergoes the severance procedure as a new employee, implanting a microchip inside her brain. At the office, the severed Helly is introduced to her new coworkers, Dylan and Irving, and is instructed that her job is to sort encrypted numbers into digital bins as part of "macrodata refinement". During a welcome party headed by floor manager Milchick, Helly becomes uncomfortable and attempts to escape by writing her outside self (or "outie") a note of resignation, but the elevator shuts down, which Mark claims is 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. Later, Irving hallucinates a black liquid covering his desk and is administered a "wellness check", where counselor Ms. Casey recites various facts about Irving's outie, with Irving forced to react neutrally. At the wellness center, Irving also meets Burt, the head of the two-person Optics and Design department. Outside, Mark once again meets with Petey, who explains that he has "reintegration sickness" from reversing his severance. Petey tells Mark of the break room and plays a recording of himself repeatedly reading out a stringent apology, with Milchick forcing him to repeat the lines. Mark gives Petey shelter in his house. As he is taking a shower, Petey suffers hallucinations and collapses.
3 "In Perpetuity" Ben Stiller Andrew Colville February 25, 2022 (2022-02-25)
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 a book authored by the latter to his doorstep, which Mrs. Selvig steals and takes to Lumon to check for hidden messages. As she searches Mark's house, Petey recognizes her as Cobel and flees the house, 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. On the way to the Perpetuity Wing, Dylan rumors with the group of Optics and Design's failed "coup" years in the past, which Mark dismisses as fake. After attempting another escape, Helly is brought to the break room, where Milchick forces her to repeatedly recite an apologetic passage. After his shift, Mark follows ambulance traffic to the convenience store and witnesses Petey being carried away by paramedics after his breathing stops. Mark rushes home to remove evidence of Petey's stay, but is interrupted when Petey's abandoned cellphone rings.
4 "The You You Are" Aoife McArdle Kari Drake March 4, 2022 (2022-03-04)
Mark misses the call on Petey's phone and stashes it, noticing several missed calls from the same blocked number. The next day, Irving visits Optics & Design, where he grows closer to Burt and discovers Ricken's book left behind by Milchick during Helly's attempted escape. Mark decides to keep the book despite promising to give it to management. Helly returns from the break room after being forced to read her apology over a thousand times; she finds a paper cutter and threatens Cobel with self-mutilation unless she is granted a recorded resignation request. However, her outie sends back a recording firmly denying the request. Later that night, Mark receives a news notification reporting that Petey died from an "unknown ailment"; Petey's phone rings shortly after. Cobel attends the funeral as Mrs. Selvig and extracts Petey's severance chip prior to his cremation. She then has Ms. Casey perform a "special" wellness check on Mark, which she watches remotely. Casey has Mark sculpt his emotional state out of clay; Mark sculpts a tree, which his outie visited in remembrance of his late wife Gemma after the funeral. Irving discovers that O&D actually has at least seven employees, working in a massive unlabelled back room. Dylan finds Ricken's book hidden in Mark's files. Helly smuggles out an extension cord and hangs herself in an elevator shaft.
5 "The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design" Aoife McArdle Anna Ouyang Moench March 11, 2022 (2022-03-11)
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 a lodge where Devon gives birth. When Helly returns, Cobel orders Ms. Casey to watch her closely. Irving once again hallucinates black liquid in the office and decides to visit Burt to calm himself, but Mark tells him to print a second copy of the directions to O&D first; while doing so, Milchick runs a "266" on Irving, causing the copier to print out a painting of O&D employees viciously massacring MDR employees. Milchick arrives and claims it was meant as a joke for Cobel. Irving and Dylan confront Burt over the painting, who claims that he lied about the size of O&D because the MDR department is seen as untrustworthy. Meanwhile, Mark sneaks Helly out of MDR and reveals he has been recreating Petey's map. Helly agrees to help Mark with recreating the map after they discover a previously unknown department in which a single employee feeds baby goats. Meanwhile, Dylan and Irving walk Burt back to O&D; Dylan discovers a hidden copy of the massacre painting, but the trio notice that the painting instead depicts MDR employees massacring O&D employees. Burt takes Dylan and Irving to the unlabelled back room and introduces them as "friends".
6 "Hide and Seek" Aoife McArdle Amanda Overton March 18, 2022 (2022-03-18)
Cobel is shown worshipping a shrine to Kier Eagan in her home. Graner calls to inform her that he has identified Reghabi, a former Lumon employee, as the person responsible for Petey's reintegration. Irving admits to Burt he is not ready to make their relationship romantic. Mark learns Ms. Casey has been sent to the break room for failing to monitor him and Helly; after a reprimand from Cobel, Mark has Irving take MDR to O&D's back room and makes a speech calling for the departments to work together to understand the inner workings of Lumon. However, Milchick finds them and Mark is sent to the break room. Milchick later briefly awakens Dylan's innie inside his outie's home to locate an infographic card Dylan stole from O&D, but Dylan's innie discovers in the process that he has a son. Outside, Devon runs into Gabby, a woman she met at the birthing lodge, but Gabby does not seem to recognize her. Devon later learns Gabby's husband Angelo Arteta is a Lumon-backed state senator who supports legalizing severance. 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 in person at a nearby university. Cobel orders for a keycard-locked door to be installed at the entrance to MDR.
7 "Defiant Jazz" Ben Stiller Helen Leigh March 25, 2022 (2022-03-25)
While Mark is meeting with Reghabi, Graner enters the building – following a tip from campus security – and tells Mark he works with him. Reghabi kills Graner and gives Mark his access card, telling him to bring it to his innie. Devon tells Cobel (posing as Mrs. Selvig) that she suspects Gabby severed her memories to avoid the pains of childbirth. 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 any more information about his child. Milchick leaves to report the incident to Cobel; Dylan, meanwhile, tells the department of Lumon’s ability to wake them up outside the severed floor, known as an “overtime contingency”. Mark and Helly scheme to find the security office; inside, they find Lumon strictly monitors all of its employees, and that the overtime contingency is activated using two levers. 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 of Ms. Casey.
8 "What's for Dinner?" Ben Stiller Chris Black April 1, 2022 (2022-04-01)
Irving's outie is shown to be living alone in an apartment, where he spends much of his time painting identical images of a dark corridor. Helly reaches 100% on her data refinement file, thereby meeting MDR's quota for the quarter. Cobel schedules Mark for a final wellness session with Ms. Casey, and appears disappointed when Mark and Ms. Casey fail to remember each other as husband and wife. She then orders Ms. Casey sent back down to the "testing floor", whose entrance is shown to be the same corridor in Irving's paintings. While MDR celebrates quota, Cobel is suspended by the board for withholding knowledge of Helly's suicide attempt and her extracurricular 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 Cobel (as Mrs. Selvig) that he plans to quit Lumon; Cobel, herself feeling betrayed by the company, encourages him to do so. Dylan receives a "waffle party" as a reward for meeting quota, in which he dons a Kier Eagan head 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 "The We We Are" Ben Stiller Dan Erickson April 8, 2022 (2022-04-08)
Mark's innie awakens in Devon's home and finds himself hugging Cobel. While excusing himself to find Devon, he calls Cobel by name, alerting her that the overtime contingency has been activated. Cobel calls Milchick and has him check the security office. Mark privately reveals to Devon that he is in innie form; Devon tells him of Gemma's death, and learns that "Mrs. Selvig" is Mark's boss. Mark encourages Devon to report Lumon's misdeeds to the press. Irving wakes up in his apartment, discovering his outie's paintings and background in the U.S. Navy, and finds a map and employee directory in the closet 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 to build public support for legalizing the procedure. Cobel races to the gala and attempts to stop Helly from making a scheduled speech. Milchick reaches the security office and cuts his way through the makeshift restraints Dylan has placed on the door. Helly gets onstage and tells the crowd of the innies' subjugation and torment before being tackled by Natalie. Irving arrives at Burt's house only to find he is already in a relationship, bringing him to bang on Burt's door in anguish. Mark finds a photo of his and Gemma's wedding; 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 to their outie state.

Production

Development

File:Benstillernyc2.jpg
Ben Stiller directed six episodes of the first season.

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.[5] In January 2017, Stiller invited Adam Scott to star.[6] In November 2019, Apple TV+ gave Severance a series order, with Stiller directing and Scott cast in the leading role.[7] Stiller was only attached to direct the pilot but he decided to direct several more episodes as the series entered development.[8]

In January 2020, Patricia Arquette,[9] Britt Lower,[10] Jen Tullock, and Zach Cherry were added to the cast.[11] Tramell Tillman joined in February 2020,[12] and John Turturro and Christopher Walken were added in November 2020.[13][14] Dichen Lachman was cast in December 2020.[15] 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."[16] On April 6, 2022, Apple renewed the series for a second season.[17]

Media that influenced Severance included the online urban legend known as The Backrooms, the video game The Stanley Parable, films including Brazil and The Truman Show, and the Dilbert comic strips.[18]

Filming

Aerial view of Bell Labs Holmdel Complex.
The Bell Labs Holmdel Complex in New Jersey stood in for Lumon HQ.

The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the initial production start of March 2020.[5] Principal photography for the first season started in New York City under the working title Tumwater on November 8, 2020, the day after the U.S. presidential election.[19][20] The opening scene of the show was shot on January 6, 2021.[20] The series filmed for a few days in Nyack in February and in Kingston and Beacon in March.[21][22] In April, filming moved to central New Jersey, mainly in the Bell Labs Holmdel Complex which stood in for Lumon HQ.[23][24] Filming was scheduled to conclude on June 23, 2021.[25] 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.[24] 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.[26] These computers lacked an escape key, as a metaphor for the lack of control the Innies have while in Lumon's offices.[27]

Reception

Critical response

Severance was met with critical acclaim upon its release. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 98% of 89 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Audacious, mysterious, and bringing fresh insight into the perils of corporate drudgery, Severance is the complete package."[28] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 83 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[29]

Accolades

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2022
 Dorian Awards Best TV Drama Severance Pending [30]
Most Visually Striking Show Pending
Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards Best Streaming Series, Drama Pending [31]
Best Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama Adam Scott Pending
Best Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama Britt Lower Pending
Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama Christopher Walken Pending
John Turturro Pending
Tramell Tillman Pending
Zach Cherry Pending
Best Supporting Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama Dichen Lachman Pending
Patricia Arquette Pending
Best Directing in a Streaming Series, Drama Aoife McArdle (for "The You You Are") Pending
Ben Stiller (for "The We We Are") Pending
Best Writing in a Streaming Series, Drama Dan Erickson (for "The We We Are") Pending
Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Drama Series Severance Pending [32]
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Adam Scott Pending
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series John Turturro (for "Defiant Jazz") Pending
Christopher Walken (for "The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design") Pending
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Patricia Arquette (for "What's for Dinner?") Pending
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Ben Stiller (for "The We We Are") Pending
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series Dan Erickson (for "The We We Are") Pending
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series Rachel Tenner and Bess Fifer Pending
Outstanding Main Title Design Oliver Latta and Teddy Blanks Pending
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) Theodore Shapiro (for "The We We Are") Pending
Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music Theodore Shapiro Pending
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") Pending
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series Erica Freed Marker and Geoffrey Richman (for "In Perpetuity") Pending
Geoffrey Richman (for "The We We Are") Pending
Set Decorators Society of America Awards Best Achievement in Décor/Design of a One Hour Contemporary Series Andrew Baseman and Jeremy Hindle Pending [33]
Television Critics Association Awards Program of the Year Severance Pending [34]
Outstanding Achievement in Drama Pending
Outstanding New Program Pending
Individual Achievement in Drama Adam Scott Pending
Webby Awards Best Actor Won [35]

See also

References

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  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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