Severance, the Apple TV+ original series created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle, was considered by many to be one of the best new TV shows of 2022, and there are plenty of reasons to enjoy the sci-fi thriller. But after that wild Season 1 ending with its big cliffhanger and great music moments, some may have some questions about the show’s future and what’s in store when the second season finally arrives.
Well, while we don’t know a lot of specifics about the story and where things are headed for Adam Scott’s Mark Scout or Britt Lower’s Helly Riggs, there’s quite a bit we do know about Severance Season 2. From the returning (and new) members of the cast to what the show’s creative team and actors have teased to what’s going on with its production and the series’ future, here’s everything we know about the new season.
What Is The Severance Season 2 Premiere Date?
While we would love to have a premiere date for Severance Season 2, Apple TV+ has yet to announce when the show will be returning to the streaming service. However, with the WGA Writers and SAG-AFTRA strikes both having been resolved in September and November 2023, respectively, there's a good chance we will know more about the show's return date in the near future.
While we don’t know exactly when Severance will make its grand return, it wouldn’t be all that surprising for the show to pop up at some point in the middle or later half of the 2024 TV calendar.
The Core Severance Cast Is Returning For Season 2
Fans of the show who are wondering what’s next for the major players in the Severance cast will be excited to read that the core actors from the show’s first season will be returning for a second round of mind-bending workplace drama and action. In October 2022, Deadline reported that the Emmy-winning series would once again feature Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock, Tramell Tillman, Michael Chernus and Christopher Walken when it made its eventual return.
This is great news for anyone who fell in love (or learned to despise) their characters during the show’s incredibly popular freshman season. But these actors won’t be the only big-time stars showing up when Severance returns.
Gwendoline Christie, Bob Balaban, And Numerous Others Are Joining The Severance Season 2 Cast
Along with the familiar faces returning, Severance Season 2 will also see a great number of new additions to the show’s cast, including Game of Thrones alums, actors who have appeared in multiple Wes Anderson movies, and so much more.
In October 2022, when it was revealed that the main stars from the show’s first season would be returning, Variety also reported that Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, Wednesday), Bob Balaban (The French Dispatch, A Mighty Wind), Alia Shawkat (Search Party, Arrested Development), Merritt Wever (Godless, Nurse Jackie), Robby Benson (Beauty and the Beast, American Dreams), Stefano Carannante (Blue Bloods), John Noble (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (The Tourist, Trapped) are all going to be appearing in some capacity. Their specific roles, however, have yet to be formally announced at this time.
Severance Season 2 Will Show More Lumon Employees On The Outside
Throughout Severance Season 1, viewers spent a considerable amount of time with the office side of the various Lumon employees, but only Adam Scott’s Mark Scout was followed a great deal in the outside world. But according to remarks co-showrunner Dan Erickson made during a 2022 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Season 2 will show more of Mark’s coworkers outside of the mysterious building, which is something he sounded excited to explore:
I just can't wait, because these actors are all obviously so good. And being able to take what Adam did in the first season — with the differentiation between his innie and outie, and how they feel like the same person but with this vastly different lived experience — seeing the other three characters' version of that dichotomy is, I think, the most exciting part. In Season 2, we're really going to expand and get into all of that. But then there'll be plenty of office stuff too. There may even be another melon bar.
Erickson also explained that each of these characters has their own reasons for undergoing the procedure that separated their work consciousness from their outside self, and that they are all at “some stage of a healing process.”
Production Has Started, But Was Put On Hold Due To The WGA Strike In May 2023
Cameras officially started rolling on Severance Season 2 back in October 2022, as revealed in an Instagram post by Apple TV+ and Ben Stiller. But like countless other TV series, movies, and even light-night comedy shows, production on Severance Season 2 was greatly affected by the SAG-AFTRA and WGA Writers Strike, which forced its producers to press pause in May 2023, according to Deadline. However, the shoot picked back up again later that month, according to the CBC, after the cast and crew were spotted filming in and around Newfoundland, Canada.
In January 2024, a few weeks after dropping a mysterious teaser for the upcoming season, the Apple TV+ X account released a black-and-white image of Adam Scott running through what appeared to be the Lumon offices, implying that production had resumed. Executive Producer Ben Stiller later reposted the image with a caption reading, "Back to work." Looks like things are up and running once again.
Patricia Arquette Has Said Fans Should Be Very Scared For What’s Coming Next
We don’t yet know a lot about the story in Severance Season 2. However, Patricia Arquette, who plays the incredibly intense and mysterious Harmony Cobel, gave viewers a warning when hyping up the new season to Entertainment Tonight at the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards in January 2023, saying:
Be scared, very scared. No, I think these guys have been working really hard, and come up with a lot of really creative things. They have a whole world in their minds. They just let us in, piece by piece, into what's going on, but I think it will be fun and beautiful, and Britt is amazing as always.
The Academy Award-winning actress didn’t offer up any concrete details about the show’s second chapter, explaining that she was being kept in the dark about the plan before she started filming her scenes.
There’s A Plan For The Series Beyond Season 2
Though a third season has yet to be announced by Apple TV+ or anyone involved with the series, Dan Erickson has alluded to Severance going as many as six seasons to properly tell its story. When chatting with Esquire in April 2022, the show’s creator had this to say about the series’ future and “overall plan” for the future:
There's an overall plan for the show. I have an end point in mind, and I intentionally didn't plan it season by season, because I wanted it to be flexible enough that we could get there in two seasons or six seasons. I want to allow us to be surprised by where the show goes. There’s a sense of what Lumon is trying to do and the role that our main characters are going to play in that, and where it all will culminate. It's really exciting to think about taking the next step on that trip.
If Severance is given time to cook and properly lay out its vast story and assortment of Lumon employees (both in and out of the office), audiences could be in for one wild and mind-bending ride in the coming years.
Expect to hear much more about Severance Season 2 in the coming weeks and months. And if you haven’t already, now would be a good time to use your Apple TV+ subscription to check out the show’s first season.
