Severance Producers Reveal Why Season 2 Had A Three Year Wait

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Key Takeaways

  • Severance experienced a three-year delayed between seasons 1 and 2.
  • Production was halted by the 2023 Hollywood strikes, as well as delays in the writing process.
  • Season 2 includes new cast members and promises dire consequences from the Season 1 cliffhanger

As a dedicated gamer of TV shows, I can attest that the wait for new seasons, especially when they leave us hanging with unanswered questions, is like being stuck in a never-ending loop on the highest difficulty level. But alas, the creators behind Severance have finally unveiled the reason behind the three-year delay – perfectionism and the 2023 Hollywood strikes.

The pace at which new TV seasons are released has slowed down compared to the past, but when a much-anticipated series leaves viewers with numerous unresolved questions, that wait can become increasingly challenging. Now that Severance Season 2 has an official release date, the creators of the Apple TV+ show have shed light on the reasons behind the lengthy delay in its production.

In February 2022, the debut season of “Severance” was unveiled, swiftly capturing the interest of viewers and critics due to its intricate, thought-provoking storyline. The series features Adam Scott portraying Mark, an employee at the enigmatic Lumon Industries who experiences a medical operation called ‘severance,’ which separates his professional memories from his personal ones. This separation creates two distinct personas for Lumon employees: their work identities are referred to as ‘Innies,’ while their home counterparts are known as ‘Outies.’ The series is the brainchild of new showrunner Dan Erickson and helmed by Ben Stiller in the director’s chair.

Why Did Severance Season 2 Take So Long?

The primary cause for the delay in releasing Season 2 of “Severance” is essentially due to a strong emphasis on perfection. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the show’s creator, Erickson, attributed the lengthy filming process to a meticulous shooting schedule and the fact that the show doesn’t move through as many script pages in a day compared to others. “It’s simply about striving for accuracy,” the creator explained. He further mentioned that the writing phase was particularly challenging for him.

In essence, this production is complex in its practicality. Each character portrays two distinct lives or personas, and the storyline is growing increasingly intricate. The writing phase was particularly laborious for me due to the multitude of directions we could take the narrative. Occasionally, an idea would seem flawless on paper, but once we reached the filming stage, we’d discover: This isn’t exactly right. We were always committed to ensuring that nothing subpar made it into the final product.

As a devoted admirer, I’d like to share that during an interview, Stiller mentioned an interesting detail about our anticipated project. When the writing was finalized, unfortunately, we encountered delays – much like many others – due to the Hollywood strikes in 2023. This setback extended filming until May 2024, leaving us with a tight seven-month window to meet our eagerly awaited January 2025 release date.

Writing season two took some time, but production began in October 2022. Unfortunately, a strike halted our progress in May 2023, at which point we had finished around seven out of ten episodes. After the strike, we had to regroup and reorganize. Preparing the show for shooting takes some time, so we didn’t resume filming until January 2024. We then filmed from January to May to complete the final three episodes.

At first, viewers speculated that Severance might encounter some production-related disagreements. Whispers arose about potential strife between Erickson and co-producer Mark Friedman, said to have slowed down the scriptwriting for Season 2; however, this has been contested. In April 2023, during the ongoing filming of Severance, Andor scribe Beau Willimon stepped in to assist with the writing of future seasons. The specifics of the behind-the-scenes turmoil at Severance remain undisclosed, but many of the series’ delays appear to be typical industry challenges.

The show “Severance” has brought on some fresh faces such as Gwendoline Christie and Sarah Bock, along with returning stars like Scott, Britt Lower, Patricia Arquette, and John Turturro. We can expect that the dramatic conclusion of Season 1 may set the stage for troubling events in Season 2, which hopefully makes the delay in its release worth it since we can anticipate an engaging new season of Severance.

Severance Season 2 will be released on Apple TV+ on January 17, 2025.

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2024-12-06 00:23