Let me put something into perspective for you. Season 1 of Severance premiered on February 18, 2022. Season 2 of Severance is slated to drop its first episode on the 2025 TV schedule on January 17. That’s a nearly three-year gap, and fans have been loud about how badly they want new episodes. Well, thankfully, now they’re coming soon, and in the final weeks of this long wait, the show’s creator Dan Erickson and director and EP Ben Stiller have opened up about why we’re getting the sophomore season years after the first one.
Undoubtedly, Severance has been one of the most anticipated upcoming Apple TV+ shows since Season 1 ended back in 2022. Loved for its details, double-sided characters and twisty plots, Erickson and Stiller were determined to make sure Season 2 met the high bar set by the first set of episodes. To that point, while speaking to Vanity Fair, the creator said they went through quite a few rewrites and changes, which caused the long delay:
On a practical level, it’s a very intricate show. Each character has two lives—essentially, two personalities—and we are expanding. For me, the writing was the most painstaking part of the process because there were so many ways we could go. And sometimes we would come up with something that worked perfectly well on paper, and then it wouldn’t be until we got there and we’re shooting it that we realize: This isn’t quite it. We were never willing to let that turn it into something that wasn’t perfect.
So, they are seeking perfection, and perfection takes time. That’s been frustrating for fans, and even Stiller has said he’d like Season 2 sooner than later. However, between rewrites that involved figuring out stories for both Innies and Outies as well as two strikes, delays were inevitable.
Addressing the actors’ and writers’ strikes that took place as they were writing Season 2, Stiller explained:
It took a while to write season two. Then we started to shoot in October of 2022, and we got shut down by the strike in May [2023]. At that point, we had completed about 7 of our 10 episodes, and then we had to regroup after the strike. It takes us a while to prep the show. And so, we didn’t start shooting until January [2024]. Then we shot from January to May to finish the last three episodes.
The Zoolander star – who has addressed how long Severance takes to make in the past – said that it took “a while to prep the show,” specifically. That was something Erickson elaborated on too. He noted that because of the rewrites and realizing that certain elements wouldn’t work, they ended up building locations they never used and needing to construct new sets to fit their new stories.
However, he made sure to note that the wait and all these changes will be worth it, explaining:
[We had] entire locations that we were planning to go to. We had already built or partially built them when we realized, ‘Oh, that’s not going to work.’ Those aren’t always fun calls to have with the studio, where you’re. like, ‘Hey, you know that thing you put a lot of resources into? Well, we’re not going to do it now, or we’re going to do something that’s totally different.’ But again, at the end of the day, it’s worth it.
So, it sounds like Season 2 of Severance was in a constant state of flux. However, considering the success and love for Season 1 – plus all those Severance theories floating around – I do not doubt that fans will be into whatever story is presented to us on January 17.
Plus, knowing the sheer amount of time, devotion and perfectionism that was put into these new episodes, I think the wait will be well worth it. The world of Lumon is carefully constructed, and the wild plot is intricate and detailed. It takes time to craft things like it, and I respect the Severance team’s devotion to making new episodes that they’re sincerely proud of.
They say good things come to those who wait, and I’m hoping that proves to be true for all of us who have been anticipating the long-awaited return of one of Apple TV+’s best shows. Thankfully, it won’t be long before we’re back in the stark white halls of Lumon with Adam Scott’s Mark and the MDR gang, because Season 2 will finally come out out next month!
