You wouldn’t be wrong if you said that Apple’s strategy for winning the Streaming Wars is built on the idea of signing A-list actors and filmmakers to basically make whatever they want, within the fairly family-friendly confines of the tech company’s ecosystem. So far, judging by the buzz and early reviews, those first series (“The Morning Show,” “Dickinson,” “See,” and “For All Mankind”) have each featured at least one big name attached to them but have ultimately been seen as duds. Well, that isn’t stopping the tech company, as Ben Stiller and Adam Scott are the latest names to be brought into the Apple family.
According to Variety, Apple TV+ has signed Ben Stiller to direct a new series titled “Severance,” starring none other than Adam Scott. The series is described as a workplace thriller following a man who works at Lumen Industries, a company that attempts to take work-life balance to a whole new level. Whatever that means. In addition to starring, Scott is also on board as a producer.
Still has been working pretty hard behind the camera lately. Not only has he been a producer on a number of films and TV series, but he actually directed the acclaimed Showtime miniseries, “Escape from Dannemora,” which was nominated for a slew of Primetime Emmys, including Best Director.
Scott is probably best known for his role on “Parks and Rec,” but he’s been a fixture in comedy films and TV series for years now, appearing in projects like “Step Brothers,” “Party Down,” and “The Good Place,” among many others. Recently, he has been doing some more dramatic work, primarily in the HBO series “Big Little Lies.”
“Severance” is set to be written by Dan Erickson. No word on when we might see the series make its way to Apple TV+ or if it’ll be yet another disappointment. Here’s hoping that the next batch of series bring a bit more quality.