Apple TV+ Shares 'Severance' Season 2 Sneak Peek

[kingtj1971]

The show has the right amount of pacing IMHO. It is masterfully done.

It starts off slow as that's sort of a key part of it. There is a lot unfolding over the course of the season.

I can't recall any part of season 1 as boring TBH. Pay attention to the small details and the interconnected loops and what they may reveal. You'll be very engaged even during the slower portions.

I completely agree! But I also find a lot of people I know consider shows of this type "too slow/boring" to keep their attention very long. I feel like this is more a fault of modern society encouraging everything to be instant-gratification and constant stimulation. (And by modern society, I'm referring to the way things seemed to go by the 1980's, when many of us were growing up and consuming media content in large quantities.) Severance is the type of show that requires your undivided attention and noting the details to get the most out of it. People who multi-task watching a show with doing other things aren't going to get a full appreciation of this one.

I just started re-watching Severance because I wanted my g/f to see it. Watching it together, I realize how even episode 2 continued that fairly slow pace where they put some time into wanting you to digest some of the cinematic details or even "Easter eggs". (EG. Inordinately large amount of camera time spent just looking at Lumen's parking lot in the snow, where those paying enough attention will admire the way the snow creates severed rows of parking spaces.)

 

[NMBob]

16 executive producers.

 

[Reason077]

I watched the whole season, but had already given up two-thirds through it for it to become halfway logically coherent or to follow realistic implications of the premise (which then would actually be interesting).

While the basic premise may be pretty implausible, if you can suspend your disbelief about the severance technology existing in the first place, the logical implications are well thought through and mostly make sense IMO.

For example, that the people who elect to do it tend to have suffered some personal trauma that makes their normal lives dysfunctional, so they can at least be productive and happy during their working day. Or the woman who wants to have a baby but wants to skip over the pregnancy and childbirth part.

 

[klasma]

While the basic premise may be pretty implausible, if you can suspend your disbelief about the severance technology existing in the first place, the logical implications are well thought through and mostly make sense IMO.

I had no issues with the technological premise. I do like thought experiments of the kind “assume that X is possible, how would the world be different then?” However, it just seems obvious to me that how the people who control the technology would work with it, and how people would react to it, would be wildly different from what is portrayed in the series. It’s too long ago that I watched the show to state specific points, but from episode to episode I increasingly thought “no way this would possibly play out in that manner in reality”, and there were all sorts of logical plot holes and implausible character behaviors. Again, not in the premise, but in the showcased consequences. And at the same time, there were so many interesting implications one could have explored with that premise that they didn’t (and that would have contradicted what they did show).

For contrast, a show which had a somewhat related technological premise was Dollhouse, which I found much more intriguing and imaginative in how it explored the consequences.

 

[BGPL]

Releasing the entire season on a single date? Awesome, truly awesome. But why is Silo getting spoon fed to us one week at a time like Disney garbage?

 

[PowerButton]

There’s still no way this show costs $20 million per episode. You could have made Dune with that budget.

 

[svish]

Excited to see the new episodes of Severance. However very annoyed with the extremely long wait. Will not be surprised if we have to wait for another two years at least if it gets renewed for another season.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

I also find a lot of people I know consider shows of this type "too slow/boring" to keep their attention very long.

Exactly. I have a good friend who gets “bored” if there isn’t a gunfight or chase scene in the first three minutes. Sad thing is, he ends up basically rewatching all the movies and series he’s seen before rather than investing some time and attention to see if he likes something new.

 

[paulbart]

Spoiler: Spoiler: more Teaser discussion

I don’t think Mark S is running to find the ‘escape’. I think he’s specifically trying to find Wellness, so he can find his outie’s wife (S1 ended with him yelling “she’s alive”, so he (innie) now knows who Ms. Casey/Gemma is). He finds that Wellness is now shut down or has been relocated

 

[John_Blackthorne]

It was not much of a "peek." But man, can't wait for the new season.

 

[nathansz]

16 executive producers.

And?

 

[drinkingtea]

I thought this show was just okay and pretty predictable. I don't understand the hype.

 

[nathansz]

I thought this show was just okay and pretty predictable. I don't understand the hype.

One of my favourite shows ever

Art is subjective

Everyone has different taste

 

[Baseiseough]

GF and I enjoyed the 8 minutes. Apple TV+ is our favorite streaming service so far. 4K, Dolby vision and Atmos included with no ad. Can't beat this.

 

[NMBob]

And?

Nothing. Just a lot of cooks in the kitchen.

 

[Puiz]

Spoiler: Teaser Discussion

It starts with Mark S having a tougher time switching from his Outie to his Innie which is indicative of him sort of rebelling still.

My reply:

Spoiler: Teaser plus Season 1 ending

Yar, consider that he just woke up and just yelled that iconic line to Devon at her house one second ago.

 

[mattopotamus]

I mean taken to that extreme all media is as reductive and "boring". Everything is just a "person doing X" for some made up reason.

If you've watched Season 1 though it ends up having a lot to get your beak wet. Even the seemingly long running has a lot of story elements that it adds.

Spoiler: Teaser Discussion

It starts with Mark S having a tougher time switching from his Outie to his Innie which is indicative of him sort of rebelling still. Then his innie starts running to find an escape. Season 1 had an escape hallway that he was presumedly trying to find, but instead he just kept going in an endless maze. Familiar and unfamiliar at the same time because it was the hallways, but the rooms had been cleaned out and "changed". That's revealed when he finds the former Wellness room. There is also someone in the background off frame looking at him when he's in the wellness room.

I will stop there though as there is a lot more to discuss from the teaser, but this isn't probably the right place for it. Long story short, if you found that trailer boring and "stretched out" then you haven't watched Season 1. It isn't meant to make sense to you.

I watched season 1, and that could have been about 2 minutes shorter.

 

[gugy]

I was very surprised by this show. Very weird but as I kept watching it, I really got hooked and enjoyed the suspense. Very well done.

 

[arobert3434]

Of course this wasn’t planned but due to the WGA and SAG strikes. Apparently they started shooting season 2 in October 2022 and had 7 episodes completed by the time they were shut down in May 2023.

Exclusive Preview: ‘Severance’ Season Two Is a True Piece of Work

Ben Stiller and Dan Erickson promise answers in the surreal show about extreme work-life balance—and explain why it took so long to return.

www.vanityfair.com

Thanks for the link. The strikes are oft-cited but I don't know of any other show that was similarly delayed by them; the section in the article sheds a bit more light. It seems it was a combination of a slow decision to renew, internal conflicts and writing delays (outside of the strike), and then very slow shooting. The last one puzzles me, since the sets and effects are about as simple as it gets for a show these days.

Since only the strikes might be eliminated this time around, I expect either this will be the last season or it'll be at least another 2 years before season 3. Fortunately they seem to be swapping out many actors each season, as aging would otherwise start to present a problem..

 

[xraydoc]

I haven't watched the sneak peek yet, and may not so I don't spoil any surprises, but I hope the first episode of season 2 has a refresher since it's been quite some time since season 1 and I don't want or have time to watch the whole season again.

 

[stainless]

16 executive producers.

Wow! Picture the intense "power dynamics" and all the political shenanigans going on in that room! I'd much rather have one executive producer take the blame for the decisions than deal with 16 people constantly bickering about what was said and how it should be presented at the water cooler.

 

[dwaite]

Thanks for the link. The strikes are oft-cited but I don't know of any other show that was similarly delayed by them; the section in the article sheds a bit more light. It seems it was a combination of a slow decision to renew, internal conflicts and writing delays (outside of the strike), and then very slow shooting. The last one puzzles me, since the sets and effects are about as simple as it gets for a show these days.

When you miss a shooting schedule in a sequel, you kinda have no choice but to wait for the cast schedule to realign. In an original work, you can potentially recast a significant portion as needed - but not so when so many people are reprising roles.

Or maybe not in this case #spoilers

The BBC's Sherlock series was one which stands out in my mind as ending because it became almost impossible to shoot.

 

[arobert3434]

When you miss a shooting schedule in a sequel, you kinda have no choice but to wait for the cast schedule to realign. In an original work, you can potentially recast a significant portion as needed - but not so when so many people are reprising roles.

Or maybe not in this case #spoilers

The BBC's Sherlock series was one which stands out in my mind as ending because it became almost impossible to shoot.

Actually the restart was pretty quick: 8 months after the shutdown and I assume most of that was the strike itself. What seemed slow was they shot for 7 months to start with and only got footage for 7 episodes. So basically one per month. Then they topped that by taking 4 months for the last 3. I really don't know how long just the shooting normally takes for shows, but over a month per episode and then needing the post-production and editing time after that would seem to be well beyond what could possibly be the case for ordinary shows that produce a season per year.