Severance’s Original Pilot Script Introduced Show’s Concept in a Much Darker Way

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Summary

  • Severance’s original pilot script was darker, with bizarre concepts like a pet rat torture scene.
  • The show almost took a different direction akin to The Office, but its unique narrative led to its success.
  • Original script changes included Mark being divorced and birthed from a giant sphincter at Lumon Industries.

The much-anticipated second season of “Severance” is almost here, leaving fans eager to revisit its intriguing sci-fi realm laden with puzzling queries about the true nature of Lumon Industries. Crafted by Dan Erickson and helmed by Ben Stiller, recent disclosures suggest that the show’s initial pilot script was significantly darker than the version eventually aired on Apple TV+.

More recently, Stiller mentioned that the second season of Severance nearly took a completely different path from what fans are familiar with, considering the idea of transforming the series into something akin to The Office. While this concept might have still thrived thanks to the show’s exceptional cast and talented writers, it was ultimately Severance’s unique and captivating storyline – characterized by its thought-provoking and dystopian exploration of office workers whose memories are surgically partitioned between their work and personal lives – that earned it numerous awards.

Severance Creator Reveals Dark Pilot Script That Was Cut

According to Kotaku, it appears that the universe of Severance would have been even more extraordinary if the show’s creator had stuck with his 2015 script. On The Severance Podcast hosted by Ben Stiller and Adam Scott, they shared that viewers would initially encounter a different scenario where Mark, played by Adam Scott, was divorced instead of widowed. In this version, he wouldn’t have been meeting Hatty at Lumon Industries, but rather in a video store named Crazy Eagle Video.

The plot twist unfolds when Mark unintentionally knocks over a cat while driving, only to disappear when he steps out of his car to search for it. In an attempt to find the cat’s owner, he accidentally knocks on the door of Ms. Cobel’s house, and from there, things take a very unusual turn.

In the podcast, Erickson explained that there’s a scene where she demonstrates her pet rat to him, but it turns out the rat is actually severed. Then, surprisingly, the rat starts cuddling with her. This is how she explains the concept of ‘severance’ to him. Later, he returns to Ms. Cobel’s house, only to find that it has mysteriously been replaced by a portable toilet – apparently serving as a mysterious communication between them. It certainly feels like something out of The Twilight Zone, but given the show’s peculiar and captivating atmosphere, this idea might have worked well within its narrative.

The idea for the series “Severance” hints at unraveling the enigma surrounding goats housed within Lumon Industries, possibly serving as subjects for their experimental “program,” much like lab animals. As per Erickson’s explanation, a significant shift in the script involves Mark waking up on the operating table instead of Hatty, and being born from a large opening in the ceiling – an event that would have sent Mark scrambling through Lumon corridors in search of escape, rather than Hatty.

Severance Season 2 premieres on Apple TV+ on January 17, 2025.

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2025-01-09 18:57