Almost 3 years after season 1, Severance gets a new look at season 2 as the sci-fi show creators explain the delay

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The Apple TV Plus hit returns in January

Britt Lower as Helly R and Adam Scott as Mark S in Severance season 2
(Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

Ahead of Severance season 2 debuting on Apple TV Plus in January, a series of new images have been revealed – and they contain some interesting details. Tramell Tillman's Seth, Adam Scott's Mark, and Britt Lower's Helly all appear in the season 2 preview, as the creators explain why it's taken so long to reach our screens.

Shared by Vanity Fair, the images see a mix of the Innie and Outie lives of the cast of characters, as well as one intriguing shot when they're all wearing fur hats. We also see some of the new characters joining the fray in season 2, including Sarah Bock's new hire Miss Huang and Gwendoline Christie's disheveled Lumon employee. You can see them all below.

Executive producer Ben Stiller and creator Dan Erickson shared some more details on what caused the lengthy delays. Season 1 was released back in April 2022 and now season 2 is only set to air in January 2025. "On a practical level, it’s a very intricate show. Each character has two lives – essentially, two personalities – and we are expanding," Erickson said.

"For me, the writing was the most painstaking part of the process because there were so many ways we could go. And sometimes we would come up with something that worked perfectly well on paper, and then it wouldn’t be until we got there and we’re shooting it that we realize: This isn’t quite it. We were never willing to let that turn it into something that wasn’t perfect."

Stiller adds that strikes really impacted their shoot as well. "Then we started to shoot in October of 2022, and we got shut down by the strike in May [2023]," he explained. "At that point, we had completed about 7 of our 10 episodes, and then we had to regroup after the strike. It takes us a while to prep the show. And so, we didn’t start shooting until January [2024]. Then we shot from January to May to finish the last three episodes."

Severance season 2 begins on Apple TV Plus on January 17. For more, check out our guides to all the new TV shows on the way and our guide to the best shows on Apple TV Plus.

Fay Watson
Fay Watson
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I’m the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering TV and film for the Total Film and SFX sections online. I previously worked as a Senior Showbiz Reporter and SEO TV reporter at Express Online for three years. I've also written for The Resident magazines and Amateur Photographer, before specializing in entertainment.