Severance Season 1 ended with Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan accessing their work personalities in the outside world. While exploring the character’s real identities might seem like a natural creative direction for Season 2, series creator Dan Erickson opted for a more subtle approach.
Speaking to SFX Magazine, Erickson said the story will focus on the impact of their actions on a personal level instead. “After Season 1, we had to take a step back and ask ourselves, ‘What exactly was it that made that work the way that it did?’ It was the smaller things, more so than the big things,” he explained. “I think we all have an impulse to know what it is Lumon does. But at the end of the day, I think what makes the show so special is Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan.”
RelatedThe creator of Severance hypes Season 2.
“And also Milchick, and Cobel, and Devon and Ricken,” Erickson continued. “It’s the heart. It’s the beating human heart at the center of this cold world. Of course, the Innies sort of blew up the status quo at the end of Season 1, so we had to respect that, and we had to let that propel us into a new situation, but we knew we didn’t want to lose the small conflicts, like arguing over pencil erasers or finger traps.”
Erickson Finds Fan Theories Overwhelming
Erickson also addressed fan theories, which he describes as slightly overwhelming. “People can continue to have their own ideas about it and that’s part of what makes [Severance] special,” he said. “I feel like I can read the theories and enjoy them and get excited by the creativity people are bringing to them. Sometimes, though, I have to stop. Sometimes it does get overwhelming to see them all and be like, ‘Oh, I wish we could [go in] all these different directions’, but they are so fun to read.”
Interestingly, Erikson and series co-creator Ben Stiller, have already developed most of the story. They just haven’t shared it with the world yet. “Ben and I did a lot of work before the show ever came out, before we even got into production on Season 1, [when it comes to] figuring out a lot of the answers,” Erickson added. “So there’s a lot more that we know, that we’ve known from the beginning, that we’ve not revealed on screen – and some of it we may never reveal on screen.
RelatedThe Season 2 premiere of Severance drops on Apple TV+ this month.
Primarily set within the confines of biotech company Lumon Industries, Severance chronicles the mundane work life of Mark (Adam Scott), who underwent a surgical procedure to separate his personal life from work. Along with other employees, Mark slowly starts to discover the truth about their jobs and his life in the outside world. The cast also includes Zach Cherry as Dylan George, Britt Lower as Helly Riggs, and John Turturro as Irving Bailiff.
Severance Season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ on Jan. 17, with new episodes airing weekly.
Source: SFX Magazine
Severance
