It’s been almost three years since the first season of smash-hit Severance first graced our TV screens. After facing several delays thanks to Hollywood strikes and rumoured creative differences behind the scenes, the Apple TV+ show is almost back, and the streamer has finally dropped a teaser trailer for season two.
Created by Dan Erickson and Mark Friedman, Severance follows Mark (played by Adam Scott) and his office colleagues, Helly (Britt Lower), Irving (John Turturro) and Dylan (Zach Chery), who work at the shadowy biotech company Lumon Industries, where employees volunteer to have their minds altered using a medical procedure called “severance”. Each character’s work memories are severed from their home memories, so the characters are essentially leading two separate lives.
Quickly becoming a favourite among fans and critics, the science-fiction drama was renewed for season two before the first had finished airing its audacious cliffhanger finale. In the first trailer for season two, Mark is seen racing through the white-walled corridors back in the office after learning an enormous secret, only to be met with three new colleagues who he’s never seen before, and who definitely aren’t Helly, Irving or Dylan.
Whether you’ve been served recommendation after recommendation or just want to rewatch the show to spot clues you’ve missed, here’s how you can dive into the office-based dystopian series in the UK, and when exactly you can watch season two.
How to watch ‘Severance’ in the UK for free
You can watch Severance in the UK on Apple TV+. There are nine episodes of the mysterious series to watch, and they all chart an extreme, chilling take on corporate life.
If you’re not already an Apple TV+ subscriber, you can sign up for a seven-day free trial. After your trial ends, it’ll cost you £8.99 per month. If you manage to get through every episode before your trial ends, you can just cancel your trial, and you won’t be charged when your subscription officially starts.
When does ‘Severance’ season two start?
On 6 April 2022, Apple TV+ renewed the show for a second season. It was expected to return in late 2023 but, in a cruel twist of irony, the series was reportedly having its own workplace drama. Thankfully, Apple TV has since announced that Severance season two will return on 17 January 2025.
According to Puck editor Matthew Belloni, production of season two had been chaos behind the scenes. In his What I’m Hearing newsletter, Belloni wrote that the second season had been “plagued by pricey problems, including scrapped scripts and the dreaded showrunners who don’t speak to each other”.
Belloni stated that writer Erickson, a “newbie” in the industry, was partnered with veteran Friedman, but they “ended up hating each other”. Friedman was set to leave the show at the end of the first season, but Ben Stiller, the executive producer and one of the show’s directors, reportedly couldn’t find a good enough replacement, so he stayed on, which led to scrapped scripts. Stiller allegedly brought in Beau Willimon, the creator of House of Cards, to help write season three. He was also roped into helping fix season two’s back half.
Back to work. #SEVERANCE https://t.co/3uh8ZEXJJL
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) January 29, 2024
Things were delayed even further on 9 May 2023 when production of Severance season two was paused due to the Writers Guild of America going on strike. The strike officially ended four months later on 27 September 2023, but the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists was also in the middle of its own strike, and the guild didn’t come to an agreement until November. This was only ratified in early December.
After a turbulent year, fans of Severance finally got the news they were hoping for on 29 January 2024, when director Ben Stiller posted an image of Adam Scott as Mark Scout running down a hallway, confirming that production on Severance had finally begun.
On 23 October 2024, Apple released the first substantive teaser trailer for Severance season two. In the teaser, Mark S. returns to Lumon after taking his innie out of the office for the first time. But as he gets to his desk, three new colleagues spin around in the chairs usually occupied by Helly, Irving and Dylan. Mark’s boss Milchick, holding a bouquet of balloons plastered with Mark’s face on them, greets him sinisterly.
Joining the cast for season two are Gwendoline Christie, Alia Shawkat, Bob Balaban, Merritt Wever, Robby Benson, Stefano Carannante, John Noble, Ólafur Darri and Sarah Bock. There will be 10 episodes in the second season run.
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