Apple TV+‘s critical hit series “Severance,” led by Adam Scott (“Parks & Recreation“), ended this week on a cliffhanger, don’t worry, no spoilers here. The surreal, strange show, something of a post-Charlie Kaufman-esque series about “work-life balance,” was renewed this week for a second season following the finale (which makes sense after that ending). Concept heavy—about employees at a company called Lumon who have undergone a severance procedure, which surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives—the series already felt like an extended movie mini-series. Still, according to the creators, it could go on well beyond just a second season.
Deadline interviewed creator Dan Erickson and director/executive producer Ben Stiller (“Tropic Thunder”) about the show’s future at Apple, and Erickson had an interesting comment. Erickson mused that it could end at season two or might even have enough juice to stick around for six seasons, although he didn’t share details of what that could look like.
READ MORE: ‘Severance’ Review: Ben Stiller Crafts A Fascinating, Eerie Meditation On Work Culture
At first, making a crack, Erick suggests they could have enough steam to make six seasons, “I would say exactly 14 seasons. It’s all planned out…No, from the beginning, obviously, with any show, you don’t know how long you’re going to have to tell the story. So, I always tried to keep it fluid enough that this is a story we could tell in two seasons; this is a story we could tell in six seasons. I think it’s a big enough world, and part of the reason that I initially wanted to do this as a series, as opposed to a movie or something, was just the question of, how would the world change if this technology existed?”
“The first question we obviously get into is how it would affect work and office culture, and that’s what we’re exploring here,” he continued. “But it opens up so many questions, and it’s such an interesting, slightly tweaked version of our reality that it was something that I was like, ‘You could easily spend six seasons, just exploring this one question.” So, I think there’s definitely potential for a good amount of storytelling.”
If you’re just learning about the show, here is the official synopsis from Apple. In short, it is a mysterious company that separates employees’ personal and work memories and some of the issues it causes when the employed inadvertently start discovering more than they should.
Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives. When a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it beings a journey to discover the truth about their jobs.
“Severance” stars Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Jen Tullock, Dichen Lachman, Michael Chernus, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, and Patricia Arquette.
Given the scope of the series, it does feel like high-concept indie sci-fi; it would not surprise if “Severance” ends after season two, but Apple TV+ is not yet Netflix, and so in their bid to keep adding new subscribers, maybe giving a longer leash to a hit show is not a bad idea from a business perspective. Let’s just hope it doesn’t hurt the storytelling. One of the biggest gripes from filmmakers these days (recently folks like Paul Thomas Anderson and celebrated DP Roger Deakins) is series that overstay their welcome and are too many damn eps long.