Severance blew everyone’s innie and outie minds away when it premiered on Apple TV+ in 2022. The psychological thriller series was an immediate hit, earning 14 Emmy Award nominations, and scored an early season 2 renewal. However, production on season 2 was stalled amidst the ongoing writers’ and SAG-AFTRA strikes in Hollywood.
The show returned to production in January 2024 about seven months after the strike ended, according to Variety. The first season of Severance was perfect television, so the stakes are high for season 2.
Severance is about a group of employees at Lumon Industries whose non-work memories are “severed” from their work memories. Season 2 will pick up after the insane cliffhanger in the season 1 finale. Apple announced several new cast members, including a Game of Thrones alum. Here is everything you need to know about Severance season 2.
Severance Season 2 Release Date
Severance season 2 does not have a premiere date yet. The show was expected to return in 2024, but that could change due to the Hollywood strikes. Apple has not confirmed when Severance will be back on our screens.
Apple officially renewed the hit series created by Dan Erickson for a second season on April 6, 2022. “It’s really exciting to see the response from people who are loving the show — and the level of fan engagement,” director and executive producer Ben Stiller said in a statement to Variety. “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 Kier!”
Severance Season 2 Filming Details
Filming on Severance season 2 began on October 31, 2022. Apple shared a photo of lead star Adam Scott shooting a scene on set. Adam retweeted Apple’s message and wrote, “Can’t wait for everyone to see what we’re doing in S2…”
Can’t wait for everyone to see what we’re doing in S2…💧 https://t.co/RGGpCOEVWz
— Adam Scott (@mradamscott) October 31, 2022
However, the Severance production stopped working on season 2 when the WGA strike began in early May 2023. Two months later, the actors also went on strike, further delaying production on nearly every TV and movie production. Severance is expected to resume production once both strikes come to an end.
There was also rumors of behind-the-scenes drama between co-showrunners Dan Erickson and Mark Friedman which allegedly impacted season 2’s production schedule. However, Ben Stiller denied this via Twitter on April 28, 2023. “No one’s going to the break room. We’re on the same really slow schedule we’ve always been on,” Ben said. “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.”
No one’s going to the break room. 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. 💙
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) April 28, 2023
Severance Season 2 Cast
The main cast of Severance season 1 is returning for season 2. That includes Adam Scott as Mark Scout, Britt Lower as Helly Riggs, Zach Cherry as Dylan George, John Turturro as Irving Bailiff, Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel, Trammell Tillman as Seth Milchick, Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman, Jen Tullock as Devon Scout-Hale, and Michael Chernus as Ricken Hale. Dichen Lachman is expected to have a bigger role as Ms. Casey, a.k.a Mark’s wife who was thought to be dead.
Apple announced the new season 2 cast members on October 31, the day filming began. The group includes Gwnendoline Christie, Merritt Wever, Alia Shawkat, Bob Balaban, Robby Benson, Stefano Carannante, John Noble, and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson.
As for future cast members, Ben Stiller told The Hollywood Reporter he’d like to add Christopher Guest to the cast. “It’s fun when you have a show like this where it allows for people to maybe come in for an episode or two but also fit into the world of Severance,” Ben said. Meanwhile, Dan Erickson told THR he wants to pitch Barack Obama to join the show. “I think he’d be really good, he’d bring some gravitas,” Dan said.
Severance Season 2 Plot Details
The Severance team has dropped hints about what fans can expect from season 2. Creator Dan Erickson told Esquire, “There’s definitely going to be some expansion of the world. Within Lumon, we’re going to see more of the building, and we’ll see more of the outside world, too.” Dan also confirmed that he has a “overall plan” for the series. “I have an end point in mind, and I intentionally didn’t plan it season by season, because I wanted it to be flexible enough that we could get there in two seasons or six seasons,” he said. “I want to allow us to be surprised by where the show goes. There’s a sense of what Lumon is trying to do and the role that our main characters are going to play in that, and where it all will culminate.”
In a chat with Entertainment Weekly, Dan said that season 2 will show “all of these people on the outside” of Lumon. “Similar to Mark, they each had their own reason for getting this procedure, and they’re all at some stage of a healing process for one thing or another,” Dan explained. “In season 2, we’re really going to expand and get into all of that. But then there’ll be plenty of office stuff too. There may even be another melon bar.”
Ben Stiller told Deadline that he feels a “responsibility” to answer questions about the show’s mysteries in the next season. “We felt that there’s a balance [to aim for], because if too many questions are answered, then you don’t have a chance to really speculate and live in the world as much,” Ben explained. “So, we’re trying to figure out how to live in that world and figure out that balance, but the answers are there. It’s just, we want to try to mete it out in a way that feels fun and satisfying.”
In an interview with Variety, Ben said that season 2 will pick up with everything that’s going on with Outie Mark and Innie Mark . “There is this growing connection between Mark and Helly happening during the season, and then on the outside, Mark is trying to get over his wife’s death — and then we’re going to find out that his wife is still alive. To put him in this position where the Innie Mark, we’re starting to root for him and Helly, but now we also want to root for Outie Mark to find his wife,” Ben said. “That’s an interesting juxtaposition and conflict we’ll explore in the second season.”
Patrick Arquette warned that fans should be “very scared” for what could happen in season 2. “I think these guys have been working really hard, and come up with a lot of really creative things,” the actress told Entertainment Tonight in January 2023. “They have a whole world in their minds. They just let us in, piece by piece, into what’s going on, but I think it will be fun and beautiful.”