Severance (2022)

Directed by

Aoife McArdle, Ben Stiller

Genre

drama film, black comedy, utopian and dystopian fiction, science fiction film, psychological thriller, mystery film

Country

United States

Length

3 seasons, 19 episodes

Rated

TV-MA

Rating

8.4 of 10 from 2,761 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

Employees at a biotech company undergo a procedure that splits their memories between work and personal life. This creates one identity that knows only the job and another that knows only the outside world.

tenseunsettlingcerebralslow-burnmysteriousclaustrophobicbleakdarkly comic

What happens

Severance is an American science fiction psychological thriller television series created by Dan Erickson, and executive produced and primarily directed by Ben Stiller. It stars Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Jen Tullock, Dichen Lachman, Michael Chernus, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette, and Sarah Bock. The series follows employees at Lumon Industries, a sinister biotechnology corporation, that have undergone "severance"—a procedure that splits a person's memories between work and their personal life. This creates two separate identities for employees: the "innie", who has no knowledge of the outside world, and the "outie", who lives their life outside without any knowledge of their job. Erickson and Stiller first developed Severance in 2015, with the series being greenlit by Apple TV in 2019, with Scott attached. The cast for the first season was rounded out by December 2020, and the cast for the second season was announced in October 2022. Principal photography for the series has taken place in New York, New Jersey and Newfoundland. Its first season aired from February 18 until April 8, 2022, and its second season from January 17 to March 21, 2025. Severance has been renewed for a third season. In February 2026, it was reported that Apple TV had acquired the intellectual property and all rights to the series from Fifth Season, with Apple Studios to become the production company for the series starting with the third season. Severance received acclaim for its cinematography, direction, production design, musical score, story, and performances. Its accolades include 41 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Lower and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Tillman. Scott was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, two Television Critics Association Awards, and a Golden Globe Award, while Stiller and Erickson received Emmy nominations for directing and writing. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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