(This review contains light spoilers for season 1 and 2 of “Severance”)

The long-awaited continuation of Apple TV’s hit show “Severance” has posed more questions than it has answered and fans couldn’t be more happy. Season one was released in early 2022 and quickly garnered a cult following due to its mysterious nature and beautiful cinematography helmed by director and producer Ben Stiller, the star of movies like “Zoolander” and “Night at The Museum” and who previously created another cult classic “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” (2014). The series was renewed in 2023 and began filming for season two that year. Thanks to a viral marketing campaign earlier this year (including a live exhibition at grand central station) season two has brought in more than double the viewership of its predecessor. 

Starring Adam Scott (Parks and Rec), John Tuturro (Barton Fink), Britt Lower (High Maintenance), Zach Cherry (Shang Chi), Patricia Arquette (Lost Highway), and Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction) as a group of employees serving in the “severed” wing of a shady megacorporation called Lumon. The titular severance procedure involves separating one’s memories at work from their memories at home, essentially creating a copy of themselves that’s entire life involves slaving away at an office job. The story’s main focus is the mystery of Lumon’s intentions and the circumstances surrounding the death of Mark Scout’s (Adam Scott) wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman). 

“Severance” has been consistently praised for its blocking and cinematography headed by director and producer Ben Stiller and chief photographer Jessica Lee Gagne. Severance sets itself apart mainly in its selection of colors. Every frame is washed in cool blues and white, giving a sense of static cold further extenuated by the perennial snowfall blanketing every exterior scene. The camera is not particularly dynamic outside of a few scenes involving running around the endless corridors of the severed floor. 

There is one scene in particular at the advent of season two that involves Mark Scout. The camera work while he is full sprinting is awe inspiring. Ben Stiller has stated the scene took months to shoot, and I feel the work paid off. Most prestigious television shows have a certain “look” to them – smoky rooms, warm colors, dark exterior shots, two-man blocking (like Mad Men, Sopranos, The Wire). I find Severance a welcome departure from the norm in its rejection of these conventions and hope it may lead to more inspired cinematography in the future for TV.

The story of “Severance” relies heavily on the performances of its actors as nearly every major character is required to play multiple roles. This cast knocks it out of the park. Standouts, of course, include Adam Scott as he does play the main character and steps into that role perfectly. You can almost forget that it’s the same person. The nuances he puts into his severed self versus his normal self, it’s really a sight to behold watching him shift between personalities. That, in my opinion, is the driving force of why the show is so beloved.

Another distinct performance is that of Trammell Tillman (Godfather of Harlem) who plays the villainous assistant turned floor manager Seth Milchick. He absolutely steals every single scene he is in. As a presence, Milchick is intimidating yet so well spoken he gives off the impression of a terminator robot. At least this is how he comes off to his employees, the severed. However, the audience is afforded a slightly more intimate look at his character. We see a man consistently disrespected by his superiors and subordinates. 

There is one particularly harrowing scene in season two that I will not go into detail for but the racist implications are quite troubling. Trammell plays this with quiet desperation and extreme patience, a real star in the making. It also helps that he is very funny. “Severance” is technically a black comedy after all.  I was not necessarily impressed with Britt Lower, who plays deuteragonist Helly R., until around the end of season two. She pulls off just a phenomenal turn that made everything else I didn’t enjoy make complete sense.

The themes of the show are at face value not very subtle. Alienation of white collar work has been a consistent talking point ever since COVID-19 in 2020. The severed people are literally separate from the outside world. Their only life and purpose is confined within the walls of a megacorporation. Beyond that is the idea of running away from one’s problems, a common motivation for people to undergo the operation is to escape the mundanity of work or to forget about painful events in real life. This mirrors a phenomenon known as work dissociation which Ben Stiller has talked about at length in interviews. 

Another interpretation one could make regards the severed people themselves as a stand in for the working class as a whole, not just white collar office drones. Their consistent attempts at gaining even the slightest compensation for their work goes hand in hand with the history of labor in America, their outside selves serving as a metaphor for the landlord or creditor class that (literally) owns every part of them. The role of religion in the series is left vague but consistent illusions to Christianity and the occult are made, perhaps season three will dive more into how this relates to the themes of the show.

Apple TV’s “Severance” is a fantastic step forward for modern television that has anything fans of mystery and drama could ever want. Ben Stiller and Dan Erickson have done a fantastic job and I cannot wait for their future work.