“You’ll feel like you never left,” reads the half-cheeky, half-sinister promotional teaser for the second season renewal of “Severance.” The news of a sophomore installment — announced by Apple TV+ Wednesday — comes days ahead of the sci-fi workplace thriller’s Season 1 finale, which premieres April 8.
The critically acclaimed series — from writer, creator and executive producer Dan Erickson and executive producer-director Ben Stiller — follows Mark (Adam Scott), a recently promoted team leader at the shrouded-in-mystery Lumon Industries. Unlike most corporate clerical workers, Mark and his team have opted to undergo the severance procedure, which medically divides employees’ work memories from their personal lives. After a number of mysterious occurrences, Mark is prompted to confront the true nature of his work and outer life.
“It’s really exciting to see the response from people who are loving the show — and the level of fan engagement,” Stiller said in a statement. “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!”
Matt Cherniss, head of programming at Apple TV+, added, “Thanks to creator Dan Erickson, the brilliant Ben Stiller, and an incomparable cast and crew, ‘Severance’ has imagined an existence that‘s equal parts riveting and enthralling as viewers around the globe can’t get enough of these rich characters. We’re excited to go deeper into this wholly unique world and unpack more layers of Lumon in Season 2.”
“Severance” also stars Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Zach Cherry, Christopher Walken, Dichen Lachman, Michael Chernus, Jen Tullock, Tramell Tillman and Britt Lower. Mark Friedman, Chris Black, John Cameron, Jackie Cohn and Andrew Colville executive produce, and both Adam Scott and Arquette serve as producers.