Those hoping to return to the offices of Lumon may have to wait a little longer. Severance season 2 has shut down production due to the ongoing WGA writers’ strike.
As per Deadline, WGA members picketed the studios where Severance is currently being filmed, with teamsters and International Alliance of Theatre Stage Employees (IATSE) refusing to cross the picket line.
The second season of Severance begun filming back in October 2022. Britt Lower, who plays Helly R. on the Apple Plus series, posted on social media "we begin again" alongside a photo of herself on set. Production Weekly then listed the production as running until May 2023 – an indication that the vast majority of filming has likely already been completed.
Severance’s shutdown follows on from a wave of productions being affected by the writers’ strike. Blade and Daredevil have been shut down – though the latter’s closure may be more temporary due to only one location being disrupted. Netflix’s Stranger Things, meanwhile, is also on hiatus.
The writers’ strike began on May 2 and is currently heading into its second week. Among the demands strikers are hoping to be met is a bump in pay – something which has dropped in real terms by 14% when accounting for inflation – and regulations surrounding "use of material produced using artificial intelligence or similar technologies."
On the new season, Cobel actor Patricia Arquette recently joked that viewers should be "scared, very scared" in an interview with Entertainment Tonight continuing with "no, I think these guys have been working really hard, and come up with a lot of really creative things. They have a whole world in their minds. They just let us in, piece by piece, into what’s going on, but I think it will be fun and beautiful."
Gwendoline Christie, John Noble, Alia Shawkat, and more are all set to join the cast of season 2 – though it’s unclear whether they’ll be innies or outies.
The first season of Severance, starring Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, and John Turturro, is currently streaming on Apple TV Plus. For more on what else is on the streamer, check out our list of the best Apple TV Plus shows.
