In 2022, a new streaming sci-fi series popped up out of the blue. It seemed like the perfect amalgamation of my interests: starring Adam Scott, the better half of Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation; executive-produced and directed by Ben Stiller, the comedian responsible for the feel-good comedies that got me through my teen years; and set in a dystopian future not far from our own with an aesthetically pleasing set design. Sold. But nothing could've prepared me for the psychological horror and the startling exploration of grief - as well as an office disco party with a light-up ceiling.
Severance came, gave me an existential crisis, and then disappeared into the murky depths of production for nearly three years despite a swift season 2 order from Apple TV Plus.
Fast forward to April 12, 2024, and I’m standing on the set of Severance season 2 in a raincoat, watching Scott film insert shots. The actor is wearing his suit and tie, standing somewhere in a cold, empty dark corner of the Lumon office. Naturally, I try to contain the big stupid grin on my face - I'm supposed to be a professional, after all, visiting set as a roving reporter. It's the last day of shooting, finally, and the vibe amongst the cast and crew can only be described as both exhausted and delighted.
Every time you find yourself here, it's because you chose to come back
"We started in October 2022. Sheesh," Stiller tells me as we walk through the hallways of York Studios, located in New York City in the Bronx. "I don't even remember when we started [laughs]. And because of the break, it feels like we've done three seasons."
It's becoming more and more common for a show to blow your mind, get renewed for another season, and then promptly fall off the face of the Earth. Sometimes it’s due to the show’s high production value (i.e Stranger Things), and sometimes the creators just want to take a break (i.e Atlanta; Curb Your Enthusiasm). In the case of Severance, however, claims of a little behind-the-scenes drama (which have since been debunked) and two consecutive Hollywood strikes slowed things down a little.
I wish the wait hadn't been as long. That's been frustrating for everybody. But at the end of the day, all you can do is try to do something that you would want to see.
Ben Stiller
"We had no idea if anybody would even watch or get [into it], but it's a different kind of thing when people had watched the show and really gotten into it. The fans have gotten into it. So you do feel like you want to give them something that's worth the wait," Stiller explains.
"Gotten into it" seems like an understatement given the die-hard fans who have created everything from fan accounts a la Club Chalamet to Mark/Helly fan-fiction and elaborate cosplays that incorporate everything from the silver severed floor access pin that bears Lumon’s teardrop-shaped logo to the blue key card every employee wears around their necks.
"I wish the wait hadn't been as long. That's been frustrating for everybody. But at the end of the day, all you can do is try to do something that you would want to see. But as with anything, it's all open to interpretation," he continues. "I felt like we needed to answer some questions on some level, but not answer too many questions. So, it still kind of has this mystery in the space that people fill up with their own ideas when they watch the show - which I think is really important."
Let's burn this place to the ground
There's one thing that makes the wait feel especially cruel and it's the season 1 finale - which has been regarded by critics as one of the greatest episodes of television ever made. The finale (directed by Stiller and written by series creator Dan Erickson) plunges the entire series into unimaginable chaos - and gives us zero time to catch our breath.
From Harmony Cobel - who lives an un-severed double life as Mark’s manager and next-door neighbor - losing her marbles, to Helly (Britt Lower) going rogue and revealing a plot twist that none of us saw coming, and Mark uttering the two most heartbreaking words before the screen cuts to black - I still haven’t recovered. Stiller, however, is a bit more chill about it.
"I'm glad that it worked well enough that people wanted a season 2 and it worked as an episode. But quite honestly, I had no idea how that episode was going to come together, because it was shot over the course of the first season in little bits and pieces," he explains. "We had an idea of how we were putting it together and how we were gonna film it. But every time we were at a different location, we would shoot a part of that episode because we go to locations and shoot all the scenes for all the episodes."
Quite honestly, I had no idea how that episode was going to come together, because it was shot over the course of the first season in little bits and pieces
Ben Stiller
"So Devon [Jen Tullock] and Ricken [Michael Chernus], we'd shoot everything that happened there. And then we'd go shoot everything that happens at Bell Labs, which is where we shoot the Lumon building. So it was all like bits and pieces and as I was putting it together, I was like, 'I hope this works.' I mean, honestly, it's the culmination of all these different stories and what we've been building towards, especially in the last three episodes.
Bell Labs is a curiously constructed office park not far from where my aunt lives in New Jersey. It was designed in 1962 as the "perfect, living and working world," to quote production designer Jeremy Hindle. It was an idea factory, where some of the brightest minds gathered. Now, it's the place where outie Mark swipes his keycard and gets checked to make sure his innie isn't trying to get notes or messages to the outside world. I haven't visited yet, but I'm bringing my keycard (yes, I have a replica of the Lumon keycard) with me.
Stiller continues: "I'm happy that it worked, but it was definitely not something I [anticipated]. Adam and Britt, and Tramell and Zach [Cherry], they're all really good and they kind of give this emotional life to the characters. I think they're so believable that it allows you to believe this reality. Britt, in the second season, she gets to explore Helena a lot more - which is fun."
The work is mysterious and important
We walk to another part of the studio where Tramell Tillman, who plays the unnerving and compelling severed floor supervisor Mr. Milchick, is also filming inserts. Uta Briesewitz, who has directed episodes of everything from Stranger Things to Black Mirror, is on FaceTime setting up the shot. She helms two episodes of the new season, and, given her filmography, I'm pretty excited.
Because it's the last day of shooting, most of the Lumon set has already been packed up. But when we turn another corner, I'm standing in one of the many long, fluorescently lit hallways that make up Lumon's severed floor. Truthfully, it feels like I’m standing in the Backrooms, the fictional, liminal space that originated on an internet forum some five or six years ago - which Erickson actually named as one of the show’s inspirations. Even the bathrooms, which I giddily step inside, are a little off-putting. Stiller grins: "Wanna see Mark’s house?"
The first season spends the majority of its time in Lumon, namely the office made up of four cubicles arranged curiously in the center where Mark, Helly, Dylan (Cherry), and Irving (John Turturro) work in Data Refinement - whatever that means. They spend their workday sitting in front of a computer screen filled with numbers that need to be dragged and dropped into a little bin (I got to try this during the Severance Experience at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 and was pretty good at it, mind you).
I think there's something about the world, the sort of claustrophobic world of being in that windowless place underground that's really interesting.
Ben Stiller
Suddenly, I’m standing in Mark’s basement - the very same dark space that housed Petey (Yul Vasquez), Mark's innie best friend who he doesn’t recognize on the outside, while he struggled with reintegration - the process of being reacclimated with the normal world post-severance. Stiller says the new season opens up the outie world, which in turn opens up even more storylines.
"Kind of double the storylines really, because we [really spend] much more time in the Outie world in the second season. So that's been an interesting challenge to figure out how to do that and also figure out how not to make it too big, but also kind of explore the world," he explains.
"I think there's something about the world, the sort of claustrophobic world of being in that windowless place underground that's really interesting. And thinking about how to expand that world was something that we wanted to do. It's just interesting 'cause like, you never know what people really clue into in a show. I think ultimately it's the characters and it's the stories of the characters. And that's something that we really thought about a lot too."
A handshake is available on request
We’re nearing the end of the day, and the cast and crew are headed down to another part of the studio to take a group picture to commemorate the final day of filming. It’s worth noting that York Studios is massive, and that Stiller is riding an electric scooter behind me as we walk - which is mainly how he gets around on set. When I look back, Scott - still dressed in full Mark regalia - is also on an electric scooter - and he apologizes for nearly running me over.
I do come face to face with death, however, in the form of Kier Egan's creepy life-size wax sculpture from season 1 episode 8 - which is sitting in the middle of the room when we enter, and almost knocks me backward. Scott, Tillman, and Stiller huddle around Kier and are joined Dichen Lachman who plays Miss Casey, with maybe 80 or so crew members gathering behind them. I stand off to the side and feel pretty lucky to witness this moment, seeing all these individuals who worked tirelessly to make this season smiling out of both pride and relief. The photographer raises her camera: "Say 'Praise Kier!'" Praise Kier, indeed.
Severance season 2 hits Apple TV Plus on January 17. For a limited time, you can stream season 1 for free ahead of the season 2 release.
For more, check out our Severance season 2 review and our list of the best Apple TV Plus shows.
