Ben Stiller announces Severance season 2 return after lengthy delay
Emmy-nominated sci-fi thriller first debuted on Apple TV+ in 2022
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Severance has returned to production on its second season after a months-long delay due to the recently resolved actors’ and writers’ strikes.
The Emmy-nominated sci-fi thriller series, starring Adam Scott as an employee who’s undergone a surgical procedure to divide his memories between work and personal life, first debuted in the early months of 2022.
Production on season two started a year later but was quickly halted in May 2023 when the writers’ union went on strike, followed by the joint actors’ union (SAG-AFTRA) strike in July.
However, now that both strikes have officially come to an end, Severance co-director Ben Stiller has announced that the team is “back to work”.
Apple TV+ and Stiller shared the news on X on Monday (29 January) alongside a black-and-white, behind-the-scenes photo of Scott in character, running on set.
Severance was officially renewed for a second season on 6 April, two days before its season one finale aired. Fans were overjoyed by the news, with one claiming that if it hadn’t been renewed, they would be “rioting in the streets”.
“It’s really exciting to see the response from people who are loving the show – and the level of fan engagement,” Stiller said at the time of the announcement.
“It has been a long road bringing Severance to television. I first read Dan’s pilot over five years ago. It has always been a multi season story, and I’m really happy we get to continue it. I’m grateful to our partners at Apple TV+ who have been behind it the whole way. Praise Keir!” he added.
Season one of Severance landed several nods at the 2022 Emmys, including Outstanding Drama Series. It ultimately lost the category to HBO’s family drama, Succession.
Scott also earnt a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He ended up losing the category to Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae who made history as the first Korean actor to win a Best Actor award.
“Compartmentalising home and work life is taken to a new level in this starry Apple+ thriller, which delivers a Kafkaesque nightmare for its ‘severed’ employees,” Leonie Cooper wrote in her three-star review of season one for The Independent.
“As high concept television goes, Severance is pretty lofty, but its ambition is compelling – not least because it might just be the bulls*** jobs backlash we’ve been waiting for,” she added.
Severance is out now on Apple TV+.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments