Summary
Severanceis finally coming up to its return date after an extended break and fans are eagerly awaiting the answers to the many cliffhangers the Apple TV+ show set up. Another thing that may be reassuring for audiences to learn is thatSeveranceis sticking to a plan that was laid out from the beginning.
Severanceis a psychological sci-fi thriller onApple TV+following the employees at the secretive Lumon Industries. The work the employees do is so confidential that they’re forced to undergo a controversial process that separates their work selves from their home selves, essentially turning them into two different people. In Season 1 ofSeverance, the employees played by Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro, and Zack Cherry learn crucial secrets about their lives on the outside which will have dire consequences for them going intoSeveranceSeason 2.
Severance Creator Confirms There’s An Endgame
Ahead of Season 2’s premiere, creator and producer Dan Erickson toldCollider in an interviewthat he had an endgame forSeverancefrom the beginning.“I had an idea for where it was going to go, which is more or less intact to this day,”he said, adding that they wanted to maintain flexibility on how many seasons the series could have while keeping that endpoint in mind. Erickson also said that Season 2 is much more focused on setting up the series for that ultimate endgame.“It definitely got more about that to attempt to create the seeds of connective tissue with where we ultimately want to go,”he said. The creator also declined to comment on how many seasonsSeveranceis shaping up to run for.
“I had an idea for where it was going to go, which is more or less intact to this day. I didn’t have five seasons planned out, necessarily, but as we were taking it around, I first was working with Ben [Stiller] through his company, Red Hour, and we were trying to find a distributor, which ultimately became Apple. But through that process, we sort of pre-broke the first season because we wanted to convince them that, ‘This isn’t just a weird pilot. We actually have a plan for where it’s going to go.’ So, there was an endpoint, and there was most of the first season kind of mapped out, but we didn’t know if it was going to be a one-season show or a 12-season show. We wanted to be flexible.”
This is reassuring for audiences, particularly asSeverance’ssecond season has been plagued with problems. By the time Season 2 ofSeverancereleases on Apple TV+ it will have been onhiatus for almost three years, which is something producer and director Ben Stiller explained was largely due to the guild strikes in Hollywood, plus the show’s slower shooting schedule. The producer also dispelled rumors that therewere any behind-the-scenes conflictsbetween the writers.
Can Severance Stick the Landing of All Its Complex Story Ideas?
GivenSeverance’scomplex psychological plot, there have been some concerns that the series may not have an endgame capable of explaining all its twists and turns satisfactorily. Not having a specific endpoint in mind has been the downfall of many popular shows in the past, such asHBO’s major tentpoleGame of Thrones, which ran out of runway when it surpassed George R.R. Martin’s novels. However, Erickson’s comments are a positive assurance thatSeveranceis following a plan and knows where it’s going, no matter how many seasons it takes.
As for what to expect from Season 2 ofSeverance, the series is poised to answer some long-held questions fans have about the series, particularlyMs Casey’s disappearance. The actors also teased in Collider’s interview that the fourth episode of Season 2 ofSeveranceis one to look out for as it’s radically different from anything they’ve done on the show before.
SeveranceSeason 2 will be released on Apple TV+ on June 12, 2025.
