The second season of Apple TV+ sci-fi thriller series Severance is back in production, after fans took to social media to complain about how long they have been waiting for the new batch of episodes.
The first season premiered all the way back in February 2022 and, before concluding its debut run (with some massive cliffhangers!), the show was renewed for a second season.
In October that same year, Apple TV+ confirmed that filming on the sophomore batch of episodes had begun.
However, in April 2023, Puck’s Matthew Belloni reported that the series had been “delayed significantly” on account of alleged soaring episode budgets, scrapped scripts and a clash between co-showrunners Dan Erickson and Mark Friedman.
A source close to the show then disputed this report, while Ben Stiller – who executive produces Severance and directed its first season alongside Irish filmmaker Aoife McArdle – tweeted about the claims: “We’re on the same really slow schedule we’ve always been on. Same target air date we’ve always had. Love our fans and each other and we all are just working to make the show as good as possible.”
The next month, Severance season two shut down production amid last year’s Hollywood writers’ strike and now, nearly two years since the series first premiered, Apple TV+ has not confirmed a release date for the new episodes or released a plot synopsis or trailer for them.
The streamer did, however, confirm this week that production on its second season has re-commenced.
Sharing an image of the show’s lead character Mark (played by Adam Scott) running down a corridor, Stiller tweeted: “Back to work.”
Posting the same photo, Scott also wrote: “Lovely being back at the office.”
Severance season two was expected to premiere sometime in 2024 and was part of JOE’s list of the most anticipated TV shows coming this year.
However, some outlets have stated that it could now drop in 2025 instead.
The sci-fi thriller focuses on Scott’s character Mark, an employee at a biotechnology corporation named Lumon Industries.
Lumon’s employees have all undergone a procedure called ‘severance’, which surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives.
“This daring experiment in ‘work-life balance’ is called into question as Mark finds himself at the centre of an unraveling mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his work… and of himself,” the plot synopsis from Apple reads.
Co-starring Britt Lower, Christopher Walken, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock, John Turturro, Patricia Arquette, Tramell Tillman and Zach Cherry, the first season of Severance earned rave reviews – scoring a near perfect 97 per cent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
In particular, critics praised the show’s ensemble cast, dark comedy, unsettling tone, satirical exploration of modern work culture and twisty plot.
The new cast additions for Severance season two include Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development), Bob Balaban (Moonrise Kingdom), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) and Merritt Wever (Marriage Story).
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