Severance is coming back this week for its long-awaited second season, but how far can the many mysteries of the Apple TV+ show go beyond the new batch of episodes?
According to director and executive producer Ben Stiller, season 3 is already in the works, and the story will continue for as long as it makes sense with the tale. "You have a responsibility to the audience that you're going somewhere with it," he told Collider in a recent interview.
"That's always been a part of it for us, really understanding where it's heading to, and Apple's been really supportive of that and been sensitive to what the story is and not saying, 'Okay, this is something that has to keep going as long as it's successful.' It should go as long as the story goes, and that's something we have an idea of, and we're working towards as we're starting up our season 3 work."
- Severance creator explains how season 1's reaction influenced where the story went in season 2: "What makes the show so special is Mark, Helly, Irving, and Dylan"
- Severance creator Dan Erickson talks keeping the acclaimed show's spark alive in season 2: "It's not just that it's still there - I think it's better"
Stiller definitely knows where the story is heading. In an interview with The New York Times, he revealed that they "have an end" for the series. "I think we now know exactly how many seasons, which I won't say", he teased.
When pressed to offer some clues about the ending, Stiller simply said: "I mean, in my mind, the series has always been about Mark and his innie and his outie, and the ultimate destination for both of them." Make of that what you will!
Whenever the ending of Severance arrives on our screens, let's hope that along the way the gap between seasons becomes much shorter. We've had to wait three years for season 2, following the critically acclaimed release of season 1 in 2022. Lucky for us, the show's creator, Dan Erickson, is committed to reduce that gap, telling Gizmodo:
"I certainly would like it to [take less time], yeah. And the conversations we have had about it, that's been in the conversation. Because season 2 actually took about the same amount of time as season 1. The difference, of course, is season 1 nobody knew what the show was and so they weren't waiting for it. But at the same time, you're always looking to sort of fine-tune the process and take what works and leave what doesn’t work and streamline things. So, my hope is that if there is a season 3, it's going to be sooner."
Severance season 2 premieres on January 17 on Apple TV+. Check out our 5-star Severance season 2 review and everything we found out about the new episodes on our set visit.
