Ben Stiller and Eddy Cue Discuss Apple TV+ Series 'Severance' at SXSW

[arkitect]

It is a curious show.
Some people love it and others are just indifferent.

My husband loves the show.

I kind of engage while it's on.
Oh look a room full of goats… hmm. Running down the same corridor again… hmm… they seem unhappy. Hmmmm… back to Wordle or the Crossword. I wonder if this is how it is working at Apple. Isn't Tim Apple making a guest appearance sometime? Oh, now they're outside again. Isn't she the… oh, never mind. I'm ready for bed.

🙂

You can go way further - equipment (e.g. lighting), licenses, music, catering, logistics etc. I find it impossible to believe that Severance comes anywhere near to that and if it does, how?!

The show feels like FlashForward to me. An interesting premise, but they never really knew what to do with it.

This is what I feel as well.

 

[Fuzzball84]

They need to commission a show on the origins of Henry Gupta. The man who is arch nemesis of Steve Wozniak and who created the Pear Computers.

Needless to say, it all went pear shaped and he ended up tinkering with satellites for a villain to keep the lights on, in his garage.

 

[Tito360]

I just watched the video and got major cringe when Ben Stiller “jokingly” suggested that Apple might be tightening the purse strings for the show. The discomfort in Eddy Cue’s chair was palpable.

Apple has trillions

 

[Fuzzball84]

Apple has trillions

Tim has added clamps to the purse. No one can prize it open.

 

[risenphoenixkai]

The show costs so much because they have to pay most of the principal actors’ salaries twice.

 

[Tito360]

Men don’t carry purses lol

 

[TechWhisperer]

If they air another episode focused on Harmony I am done. I don’t watch the show for 45 minutes of Patricia Arquette being surly.

Each episode of the second season is worse than the one before it. Season 2 suffers from a steady downward trajectory. Season 1 was great though.

 

[TechWhisperer]

Also, horses for courses I know, so downvote away but…

As much as I tried (and I really did) I couldn’t bring myself to get through all of S1. I tried again with first ep of S2 (with the catch up) but yet again, found the pacing painfully slow and the dystopian subterranean “retro tech” office setting, claustrophobic, depressing and repetitive. In stark contrast, I loved Dark Matter, so it’s not the genre.

Maybe this is one show that would have really benefited from a full drop and binge-watch, but the Apple TV+ weekly drip-feed model (to generate outdated “office water cooler buzz” I expect 🙄) really doesn’t help here. Shame as a great concept on paper, but I found the execution lacking and off key.

Season 1 was great but the creators couldn't handle their success. They obsessively rewrote scripts trying to make everything "better," but each change only made it worse. I miss the 90s where they made epic shows with epic stories and stayed humble about it.

 

[N82]

Great show, too bad it's not available in 4K.

 

[SpanishAppleNerd]

The first show I may be interested in watching in Apple TV

 

[I7guy]

200 million???? Game of Thrones season 1 are 50 to 60 million, apple needs some serious audit if that's true. I didn't see any scene from Severance that worth this huge amount of money.

That’s why the budget is so large. Because it’s well done and the audience can’t tell.

 

[I7guy]

You can go way further - equipment (e.g. lighting), licenses, music, catering, logistics etc. I find it impossible to believe that Severance comes anywhere near to that and if it does, how?!

The show feels like FlashForward to me. An interesting premise, but they never really knew what to do with it.

Understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but they know exactly what they are doing with it.

 

[DougiePhresh]

Season 1 was one of my favorite shows of all time - I probably watched it five times. After last week’s episode, I might be done with Severance - an entire hour-long episode for Harmony Cobel to grab a notebook? Complete waste of my time. That whole episode should have been a 10-minute scene. Looks like they took their momentum and popularity from season 1, and completely ruined the show.

 

[I7guy]

Also, horses for courses I know, so downvote away but…

As much as I tried (and I really did) I couldn’t bring myself to get through all of S1. I tried again with first ep of S2 (with the catch up) but yet again, found the pacing painfully slow and the dystopian subterranean “retro tech” office setting, claustrophobic, depressing and repetitive. In stark contrast, I loved Dark Matter, so it’s not the genre.

Maybe this is one show that would have really benefited from a full drop and binge-watch, but the Apple TV+ weekly drip-feed model (to generate outdated “office water cooler buzz” I expect 🙄) really doesn’t help here. Shame as a great concept on paper, but I found the execution lacking and off key.

My spouse tried Ted Lasso and I wasn’t into giving it a go either. This is after Season 1 and 2 had dropped. Fast forward Season 3 was dropping and we were bored, so we tried it again together. It took 3 episodes and then we were hooked.

Severance followed the same pattern for us. We love the symbolism, deep secrets, dystopian universe, special effects and top notch acting.

I don’t expect more than 3 seasons from Serverance, so the season 2 cliff hanger will interesting

 

[QuarterSwede]

I hope Severance doesnt go past 3 seasons. Take a lesson from Ted Lasso. 3 season arc is perfect to wrap up a streaming series. I know Ted Lasso might come back for a 4th season... but thats just a rumor and if it happens it'll be 3 yrs since season 3 ended and the show will be more of a reset or new show with a new focus. Point is, less is more. Look what happened to Lost or The Walking Dead. Two appropriate names for what those shows became... LOST & DEAD SHOW WALKING 😂 People get bored of a show after a certain point. You want to leave them wanting more. Get out early & stay a classic forever instead of a show that overstayed it's welcome. ✌️

The great news is that there is an ending, according to Ben Stiller on Severance podcast S2E6. Jimmy Kimmel asked the question.

 

[peneaux]

I hope Severance doesnt go past 3 seasons. Take a lesson from Ted Lasso. 3 season arc is perfect to wrap up a streaming series. I know Ted Lasso might come back for a 4th season... but thats just a rumor and if it happens it'll be 3 yrs since season 3 ended and the show will be more of a reset or new show with a new focus. Point is, less is more. Look what happened to Lost or The Walking Dead. Two appropriate names for what those shows became... LOST & DEAD SHOW WALKING 😂 People get bored of a show after a certain point. You want to leave them wanting more. Get out early & stay a classic forever instead of a show that overstayed it's welcome. ✌️

The idea is that the viewer is already “hooked” and the producers will milk the cow until she’s dead. They will cut the budget and deliver the garbage until nobody watches. It’s a shame what they did to The Walking Dead. I really enjoyed the first 4 seasons.

 

[QuarterSwede]

Also, horses for courses I know, so downvote away but…

As much as I tried (and I really did) I couldn’t bring myself to get through all of S1. I tried again with first ep of S2 (with the catch up) but yet again, found the pacing painfully slow and the dystopian subterranean “retro tech” office setting, claustrophobic, depressing and repetitive. In stark contrast, I loved Dark Matter, so it’s not the genre.

Maybe this is one show that would have really benefited from a full drop and binge-watch, but the Apple TV+ weekly drip-feed model (to generate outdated “office water cooler buzz” I expect 🙄) really doesn’t help here. Shame as a great concept on paper, but I found the execution lacking and off key.

I think part of it is realizing it’s not all being serious. There are a lot of small jokes.

Ex. S1E1, the hallway scene where Mark is walking through to hallways for 2 full minutes. That was to show how bat **** this place is but also show the writers/cast/crew know it’s absurd. I immediately got that it was hilariously absurd and started seeing that in a lot of scenes. Made for comic relief when there isn’t any.

But I get why you wouldn’t like the show. It is slower paced than what we’re used to.

And goodness the cinematography is incredible. I could watch it just for that.

 

[0049190]

Eddy Cue is the reason Apple never sold hires lossless music in iTunes. I wish they would get rid of him.

 

[victorvictoria]

I watched the entire first season. But after one episode in season 2, I utterly lost interest and stopped watching it. I don't know whether the show changed or if it's me, but I just couldn't care less about the fates of these wretched characters anymore.

 

[doelcm82]

You can go way further - equipment (e.g. lighting), licenses, music, catering, logistics etc. I find it impossible to believe that Severance comes anywhere near to that and if it does, how?!

The show feels like FlashForward to me. An interesting premise, but they never really knew what to do with it.

I think they know what to do with it, but I'm worried that we're learning too much, and getting too close to the end. Will there be enough left for Season 3? But if they didn't give us real answers, but only more goats and paintings and weirdness, I'd be annoyed.

Flashforward was an entertaining book, and I was excited for the series, but they changed too many things about it. I understood the compression of the timeline, since the book took place over decades (it takes a lot more skill to pull that off--I think The Expanse was mostly successful). But the change that annoyed me was the "intrigue" they added, regarding the cause of the phenomenon. An episode or two in, I found my self yelling at the screen, "This is bad. This is so bad!" I did that with Under the Dome also, and after the first several seasons, Lost.

I haven't been yelling at the screen (the big virtual screen on my Apple Vision Pro) for Severance.

 

[G4RHL]

At the annual SXSW film festival in Austin, Texas today, Apple's services chief Eddy Cue joined Ben Stiller on stage to discuss the hit Apple TV+ show Severance.

Cue is a longtime Apple executive who oversees Apple TV+, and the company's other services, while Stiller serves as the director and an executive producer of Severance. In a session that ran for more than 40 minutes, the two discussed the critically-acclaimed series, with a few jokes about Apple and other comments mixed in.

Severance revolves around the mysterious company Lumon Industries. The company's employees cannot recall any memories about their personal lives while they are at work, and they cannot remember anything about the workplace when they leave the office. The show's second season is currently in progress, with eight episodes released so far.

Created by Dan Erickson, the sci-fi drama series has an ensemble cast that includes Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, John Turturro, Tramell Tillman, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Walken, and others. In the second season, the employees "learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe."

Severance has become the most-watched Apple TV+ series ever, according to Apple. A third season of the show is already in development.

In the U.S., Apple TV+ costs $9.99 per month. It is also included in all Apple One bundles.

Thanks, Shawn!

Article Link: Ben Stiller and Eddy Cue Discuss Apple TV+ Series 'Severance' at SXSW

I persevered to so far through episode 4 of the first series and gave up. No desire to watch any more.

 

[I7guy]

Please enjoy all shows equally.

I think part of it is realizing it’s not all being serious. There are a lot of small jokes.

Ex. S1E1, the hallway scene where Mark is walking through to hallways for 2 full minutes. That was to show how ******* this place is but also show the writers/cast/crew know it’s absurd. I immediately got that I was hilariously absurd and started seeing that in a lot of scenes. Made for comic relief when there isn’t any.

But I get why you wouldn’t like the show. It is slower paced than what we’re used to.

And goodness the cinematography is incredible. I could watch it just for that.

Yes that hallway scene is epic. Mark S goes from crying in the car to looking like he owns the place. And the background music is awesome during the hall walk. Very 1960s. I like the digs at work life balance.

Also like how there is this juxtaposition between hi-tech Lumon and the outside world, which is dark and dank. The cars they drive and the houses they live in.

 

[Will Co]

Your outie writes humorous comments on MacRumors which are appreciated by all.

 

[Kastellen]

It is a curious show.
Some people love it and others are just indifferent.

My husband loves the show.

I kind of engage while it's on.
Oh look a room full of goats… hmm. Running down the same corridor again… hmm… they seem unhappy. Hmmmm… back to Wordle or the Crossword. I wonder if this is how it is working at Apple. Isn't Tim Apple making a guest appearance sometime? Oh, now they're outside again. Isn't she the… oh, never mind. I'm ready for bed.

🙂


This is what I feel as well.

Yeah, Severance is not a show that you can watch while distracted in any way. So much of the story is played out in very subtle acting. Even then, keeping track of the "mythology", which you need to follow the overall plot, is a challenge. It's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea, but I love it.

 

[Will Co]

Yeah, Severance is not a show that you can watch while distracted in any way. So much of the story is played out in very subtle acting. Even then, keeping track of the "mythology", which you need to follow the overall plot, is a challenge. It's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea, but I love it.

There’s a lot of hype about it, I know, but I think it’s one of the most original and well produced series I’ve seen in a very long time. Can’t recommend it enough.