Watching the new Severance season two trailer, below — and the new sneak peek at the first eight minutes of episode one Apple TV+ dropped Monday — my excitement for the new episodes became one with my grim determination to watch the entire first season again before the undoubtedly bizarre new scenes of workplace hell start streaming on January 17, 2025.
Never before have I force-marched myself through a whole TV series season as a matter of preparation. But this funny-yet-unnerving workplace psycho-thriller deserves and demands it.
Update: As a twisted sort of holiday gift, Apple TV+ posted a sneak peek at the first eight minutes of Severance season two on Monday, December 23. It’s safe to say the main character is very much on the run through Lumon Industries sterile yet deeply alienating hallways until he comes face to face with a team of direct reports he doesn’t recognize. And he ends up with more questions than answers in a one-on-one with Mr. Milchik. Watch the sneak peek at the link above and the trailer below.
Severance season 2 trailer scales new heights of workplace weirdness
“Their work will be remembered as one of the greatest moments in this planet,” intones the voiceover at the start of the new season trailer. And later we see an unfamiliar man saying the line. He looks like an Amish farmer from the late 1800s who somehow stumbled into a corporate conference room, so he’s probably from Lumon Industries HQ on planet WTF. And he’s probably talking about our friends in the sinister company’s Macro Data Refinement department on the Severed Floor. That’s where employees have separate work (“innie”) and non-work (“outie”) consciousnesses, thanks to the supposedly voluntary Severance brain surgery.
Apple TV+ press materials for the trailer get in on the fun, referring to the “unsevered minds” of director and executive producer Ben Stiller and creator, writer and executive producer Dan Erickson. And they riff on a bizarre-o corporate Patricia Arquette line from season one: “A virtual handshake is available upon request.” This trailer follows an earlier teaser trailer.
Season 2 picks right up on the weirdness
Photo: Apple TV+
The show’s season two trailer packs in plenty of action, showing the four main Lumon-employee characters urgently trying to figure out why they’re “heroes” rather than goats after their decidedly disobedient behavior in season one. And speaking of goats, yes, they’re back. If you watch the show, you probably remember the goats.
“What you all did is one of the most painful moments in the history of this company,” says manager Mr. Milchik, gravely (and this scene is extended in the new eight-minute sneak peek). “But the four of you have become what’s known as the face of Severance reform,” he adds, breaking into a playful grin as he hands over a heavily redacted newspaper page showing the headline, “Innies Blow the Whistle.”
But of course that just freaks out our heroes. They urgently compare notes on their season one escape efforts. And they plot anew.
Here’s the more-or-less unhelpful show and season description from Apple TV+:
In Severance, Mark Scout (Scott) leads a team at Lumon Industries, whose employees have undergone a severance procedure, which surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives. This daring experiment in “work-life balance” is called into question as Mark finds himself at the center of an unraveling mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his work … and of himself. In season two, Mark and his friends learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe.
Watch the Severance season 2 trailer:
Accomplished management and employees cast
The Emmy and Peabody Award-winning workplace thriller comes from executive producer and director Ben Stiller, creator and executive producer Dan Erickson and Fifth Season studio. It stars Emmy Award nominee Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman, Emmy Award winner John Turturro, Academy Award winner Christopher Walken, and Academy and Emmy Award winner Patricia Arquette. New series regulars Sarah Bock and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson appear in the second season.
Stiller executive produces and directs five episodes this season. Other directors: Uta Briesewitz, Sam Donovan and Jessica Lee Gagné. Season two executive producers also include John Lesher, Jackie Cohn, Mark Friedman, Beau Willimon, Jordan Tappis, Donovan, Caroline Baron, Richard Schwartz, Nicholas Weinstock. And in addition to starring, Scott and Arquette serve as executive producers.
Other achievement awards
Severance season one received acclaim from fans and critics alike. It boasts a 97% critics’ Fresh rating (and 88% viewer rating) on Rottentomatoes.com. The AFI Awards winner landed 14 Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Stiller), Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Scott) and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.
It also won these awards:
- Oscars for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series and Outstanding Main Title Design
- Writers Guild of America Awards for Best New Series and Best Drama Series
The series also received award nominations from the Screen Actors Guild, Producers Guild and Directors Guild.
Read more about Severance on Cult of Mac:
Photo: Apple TV+
- Apple TV+ Morse code video hints at big Severance season 2 news
- Severance season 2 on Apple TV+ just got a little closer
- Severance fans get ‘8 Hour Work Day Innie Mix’ of theme song
- Severance severed: Writers strike starts to affect Apple TV+ production
- On-set ‘hatred’ could delay Severance season 2
- Severance grabs top Writers Guild awards
- Mondo drops ‘innie’ and ‘outie’ vinyl soundtracks for Severance
Watch Severance on Apple TV+
The 10-episode second season of Severance will debut globally on Apple TV+, with the first episode on Friday, January 17, 2025, followed by one episode every Friday through March 21. But you can stream the whole first season anytime. I know I will (again).
The service is available by subscription for $9.99 with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
After launching in November 2019, “Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 471 wins and 2,090 award nominations and counting,” the service said.
In addition to award-winning movies and TV shows (including breakout soccer comedy Ted Lasso), Apple TV+ offers documentaries, dramas, comedies, kids shows and more.
We published this post with the official season 2 trailer on December 8, 2024, and again with the 8-minute sneak peek video on December 24, 2024.
