Severance (TV series)

*Severance*
Severance
Genre	Black comedy; Comedy-drama; Dystopian; Mystery box; Psychological drama; Psychological thriller; Science fiction;
Created by	Dan Erickson
Showrunner	Dan Erickson
Starring	Adam Scott; Zach Cherry; Britt Lower; Tramell Tillman; Jen Tullock; Dichen Lachman; Michael Chernus; John Turturro; Christopher Walken; Patricia Arquette; Sarah Bock;
Composer	Theodore Shapiro
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	19
Production
Executive producers	Ben Stiller; Nicholas Weinstock; Jackie Cohn; Mark Friedman; Dan Erickson; Andrew Colville; Chris Black; John Cameron; Beau Willimon; Caroline Baron; Richard Schwartz; Jordan Tappis; Adam Scott; Patricia Arquette;
Producers	Aoife McArdle; Amanda Overton; Gerry Robert Byrne;
Cinematography	Jessica Lee Gagné; Matt Mitchell; Suzie Lavelle; David Lanzenberg;
Editors	Geoffrey Richman; Gershon Hinkson; Erica Freed Marker;
Running time	37–76 minutes
Production companies	Red Hour Productions; Fifth Season; Westward (season 2); Animals & People (season 2); Apple Studios;
Budget	US$200 million (season 2)
Original release
Network	Apple TV+
Release	February 18, 2022 –; March 20, 2025
Network	Apple TV
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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 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 its in-house Apple Studios to become the production company for the series starting with the third season.

Severance has received critical acclaim for its cinematography, direction, production design, musical score, story, and performances. It has received numerous accolades, including 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's performance earned him nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, two Television Critics Association Awards, and a Golden Globe Award, while Stiller and Erickson also received Emmy nominations for directing and writing.