There are quite a lot of original sci fi and fantasy television shows out there these days across the streaming services (not so much the broadcast networks and cable channels anymore, though) and it is hard to keep on top of all the newest offerings. I let my Apple TV+ subscription lapse when there was a lull in new releases last year, but I re-upped last month and have been getting caught up ever since. One the first shows on my list to watch was the corporate dystopia Severance which has been getting a ton of good buzz since it premiered in February 2022.
That show is executive produced by Ben Stiller (Night at the Museum) and Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation) with the latter starring as one of the main characters and the former directing multiple episodes. It follows a group of people working at Lumon Industries who have agreed to undergo the “severance” procedure which separates their work consciousness (their “innies”) from their non-work consciousness (their “outies”). The main focus is on the Macrodata Refinement group which consists of four people: Mark Scout (Adam Scott), Dylan George (Zach Cherry), Irving Bailiff (John Turturro), and newcomer Helly Riggs (Britt Lower). Their job tasks seem rather mundane and they are rewarded with various perks like finger traps, coffee mugs, and the ultimate prize, a waffle party.
Now I am usually not too worried about divulging some spoilers in these reviews, but for this show, the less you know going in the better. The first episode introduces us to Mark Scout who finds that he has become the department head because the prior person in that position (who he considered a friend) left suddenly. We also meet Helly Riggs who has just started in the severance program and her “innie” is having a hard time accepting the situation. Together with the other two people working in the department, they slowly start questioning the nature of their employment and they start looking for answers to what it is that Lumon Industries does.
The show definitely takes some stabs at corporate America and offers some subtle satire with the mundane work environment and the overly pleasant management guiding the worker bees almost like children. But it also ventures into some Prisoner-esque territory with main characters starting to question their leaders as well as the reality they seem to live in. And the show goes into some pretty dark territory pretty quickly. (It also delivers some WTF moments like the waffle party.) The series is not simply designed as a slam on the corporate world but instead uses that vapid environment–which is particularly ripe for satire–and starts to build a much bigger story. By the season finale, the characters have certainly been through a journey and it is almost certainly not the one the viewers likely expected when the show started.
Severance can be rather slow and mundane at times, but in part that is a commentary on the work environment. The actors are nearly perfect in their roles, though and help keep you invested in the story. If you feel like the story is not making much progress (or seems to be heading in erroneous directions) by the third or fourth episode, stick it out. Everything comes together by the finale and sets up an even bigger story to come. I don’t know that I would call this a great show right now. But it is really good and shows a lot of promise for the future to potentially turn into a dystopian, sci fi classic.
SciFiTVSite.com: Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and keep up with what is airing/streaming each week with our Weekly Listings.
CancelledSciFi.com: Keep up with the status updates of all the currently airing sci fi and fantasy shows with our Cancellation Watch posts. And be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates.
