The TV Series ‘Severance’ and the Shifts It Inspired

The Unique Premise of Severance 

Severance is an Apple TV streaming show written by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller. The show has recently been extremely popular and has attracted a cult fan base online. The key theme of the show is related to ‘work-life balance’ so many people find the show is relatable to their own lives. 

The show is centered on a company called Lumon where employees can choose to undergo a procedure that separates the personalities of who they are at work (innies) and outside of work (outties). This means that the innies and outties have separate memories and do not know what each other’s lives are like. The show answers the question of what life would be like in a world where this surgery is possible, while also showing the dark reality of the procedure and the Lumon corporation.

Parallels with real corporate life

One of the main reasons the show is so popular is that many people relate to the boredom of office jobs. Other popular TV series such as ‘The Office’ are set in similar office settings but Severance shows a much more dramatic representation. The office shows a plain windowless space with long corridors, white walls and florescent lights. This creates a memorable theme and makes each scene a striking picture. The main character’s Innies, who have to work and live all of their time inside this setting and have no knowledge of the world outside of work, make for some very comedic moments as they try and find meaning in their lives. 

The show highlights the darker side of corporate life including overbearing bosses, toxic environments and stressful pressure. The innies in the show don’t even know what work they are doing, they are only told it is “mysterious and important” by the company. This resonated with some audience members who found that they sometimes feel like their own lives are controlled by repetitive jobs.

How Severance built a community with weekly releases

In the past decade there was a big trend in the way people watched TV toward people watching shows all at once by “binge-watching” on streaming services. Apple TV decided to take a different approach with Severance, choosing to release a new episode every week instead of the whole season at once. This weekly schedule helped build excitement and revive a culture of a community all watching a show together. This worked especially well for a show as mysterious as Severance. Fans were able to share theories online and talk about the latest episode, allowing fans to feel involved for months with each weekly release feeling like an event.  

Severance not only made people rethink their relationships with work and identity, but also brought back the excitement of shared weekly viewing, reviving the way people can connect over great television.

Written by Sean Furniss