‘Severance’ Cast, Creators Discuss Fan Theories and Whether They Caused The Great Resignation

This feature was produced and curated by THR editors and is presented by Apple TV+.

In Apple TV+’s Severance, the employees of a mysterious corporation called Lumon Industries undergo a procedure that separates their identities at the office from the person they are outside of work — known as “innies” and “outies,” respectively. What begins as a corporate satire becomes more sinister as the Lumon employees uncover dark secrets and attempt to understand who they really are. Creator Dan Erickson, director Ben Stiller, cinematographer Jessica Lee Gagné, and actors Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Zach Cherry and Tramell Tillman sat down with THR to discuss how they approached the thriller series.

Dan, how did the idea for Severance come to you?

DAN ERICKSON Like a lot of people, I had a job that I wasn’t thrilled with. I was going in to work one day and found myself wishing, “God, if I could skip the next eight hours and just be going home right now.” That was a scary thing to catch yourself wishing for — like, I want less time on this precious Earth. Ben and I tried really hard to keep the show about that central question: What is this weird impulse in us that might cause us to want to disassociate parts of ourselves in our lives?

BEN STILLER That idea is really what the show is about. The first line of the show is, “Who are you?” It’s about what makes up our memories, our experiences, who we are when we’re disconnected from those and how much of those make up who we are.

What was everyone’s first reaction to the material?

ADAM SCOTT Ben first called me in January 2017 and told me the elevator pitch, so to speak, and I couldn’t get it out of my head for the next couple of years. This is exactly the kind of thing that I want to be in and exactly the kind of story I gravitate toward. It hit all of my pleasure centers as an audience member.

BRITT LOWER I was so taken by [my character] Helly’s immediate point of view — which is so strong and brave and rebellious — and the journey of discovering, like Ben said, who am I at my core, and who am I on the outside.

ZACH CHERRY I was excited to play Dylan because I related to how he plugs into the tasks he’s given at the office. I’m a gamer, so I’ll spend, like, four hours trying to find this one specific thing — there’s no real reason I’m doing it, but I’ve committed to it.

TRAMELL TILLMAN For me, I wanted a job. (Laughs.) The script was just so dynamic and there’s so much mystery behind this corporation. Diving into finding out what it is, and who we are in all of this, was really exciting.

PATRICIA ARQUETTE When I read the script I was like, “Why do you want me to do this? Who is this lady? What is this corporation?” They gave me answers, and it just made me more confused. The way you guys are talking about discovering who you are … There’s a part of [my character] Cobel that has been totally usurped by this corporation. You can hide behind not knowing who you are, not even wanting to ask, because it’s terrifying. Maybe you’re no one under that.

Severance transcends genre — it’s sometimes funny, sometimes terrifying. Jessica, how did you balance those tones visually?

JESSICA LEE GAGNÉ I was terrified of the script. The writing is amazing, but as a cinematographer it was quite scary to approach something that was all office space. It pushed me to find aesthetic things within that world. We researched a lot of movies.

What did you use as inspiration?

ERICKSON Everything from Brazil and Being John Malkovich to The Office and Office Space. A lot of late-’90s stuff deals with the nature of reality, like The Truman Show and The Matrix. We looked at a lot of real-life cults, and we looked at kind of the weird, blurry line between what is a cult and what is a church and what is a corporation.

What was it like playing characters who only know about half of their identities at any given time?

LOWER We received all the scripts ahead of time, which is such a rare gift for TV. Being able to see that whole arc ahead was super helpful for tracking what information the character knows about themselves and about the company at any given time.

JOHN TURTURRO Dan wrote a very generous backstory [and I spent a lot of time] thinking about that. It was important for me because what [happens in] Irving’s outside life bleeds in a little bit when he makes this connection with Burt.

I hear John helped get Christopher Walken in as Burt …

TURTURRO I told Ben I only had one idea for who I wanted to do it. I’ve directed [Christopher Walken], I’ve acted with him. I just love working with him. The connection is already there. Ben was very excited, and he asked me to explain it to Chris.

STILLER When we had that meeting, John hadn’t agreed to do the show yet. We left thinking, “If John’s going to do it, we’ve got to get Chris Walken.” I never even thought of Chris for the role, because I didn’t think it was possible. And now, of course, it’s that type of casting where you can’t imagine anybody else playing it.

The show premiered at a moment when a lot of people are reexamining their relationship to work.

ERICKSON I caused the Great Resignation. (Laughs.) It was mid-pandemic when we went into production. I was like, “Oh God, are we making the least relevant show? A workplace satire just when the workplace is going extinct?” But work-life balance is more elusive than ever now, and it’s the best time for the show to come out. It’s fun becoming part of that conversation in some way.

How did shooting during the pandemic add to the mood on set?

ARQUETTE There was so much forced division, which helped [create] this artificial world that we were trapped in.

SCOTT I don’t live in New York, so I was there just for the show. In the morning, I’d get in a van and drive to the Bronx to shoot. At the end of the day, I’d get back in the van and go to an apartment by myself, then eat, sleep, wait for the van in the morning and do the same thing again. It started to feel like a very separate world, this existence over the course of all these months. It was strange and transactional, but it helped feed the show.

Do you engage with fan theories?

ERICKSON I’m a lurker on Reddit, but I don’t really comment.

CHERRY A lot of people were upset they didn’t get to see Dylan dance.

LOWER I’m mad about it.

ARQUETTE I think Christopher and Tramell should have a dance-off.

Lastly, what’s with the baby goats?

ERICKSON All I can tell you is that the consciousness of the main characters are going to be put into the goats.

STILLER That’s not true!

Interview edited for length and clarity. 

This story first appeared in the June 1 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.