What is Severance about?

The American science fiction psychological thriller television series Severance was produced by Dan Erickson and directed by Aoife McArdle and Ben Stiller. After its February 18, 2022 premiere, it was promptly given a second season renewal.

The show won awards for Main Title Design and Musical Score at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, where it had 14 nominations, including for Outstanding Drama Series and acting nominations for Scott, Turturro, Walken, and Arquette. The second season is set to debut on January 17, 2025.

What is the plot of Severance?

Lumon Industries is a biotechnology company that uses a medical technique known as "severance" to disconnect workers' consciousness when an implanted chip is activated. When they enter one of the company's restricted "severed" floors, the implant is typically triggered spatially, presumably to prevent the leakage of highly classified work.

When severed staff are at work, they are called "Innies" and, although they maintain general knowledge, they are unable to recall anything about their lives, personal histories, or the outside world. An Innie never knows what it's like to go home or leave the building because their Innie consciousness only lives when they're at work. They believe that they are constantly working.

When they are working outside, they are called "Outies" and are unable to recall their job hours. Even when eight hours have gone by, it seems to an Outie that they arrive at work and then depart right away. The distinction between Innies and Outies is strictly enforced. As a result, Innies and Outies have two separate lives with different personalities and goals.

The severance procedure is an explosive subject in the show's world, raising questions about the morality and vulnerability of Innies who are forced to work at the request and advantage of their Outies, who have chosen to leave that unpleasant part of their lives, and whose lack of personal history, supervision, and isolation make them vulnerable to manipulation.

The focus of the first season is Mark (Adam Scott), an employee of Lumon. After his friend and boss, Petey, vanished mysteriously, Mark's Innie was recently made head of his department. Mark's growing unease with the cult-like Lumon and the challenges of running his department, such as the onboarding of a disobedient new Innie, Helly (Britt Lower), must be balanced.

When secrets from Lumon start to intrude on Mark's Outie life, he must deal with the personal tragedies that forced him to decide to become severed as well as the abrupt overlap of his distinct worlds.

Also read about: Cast of Severance

How well received was Severance?

When Severance was released, it received positive reviews from critics. Based on 116 reviews and an average rating of 8.5/10, the first season of Severance has a 97% approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.

The verdict on the website is: "Audacious, mysterious, and bringing fresh insight into the perils of corporate drudgery, Severance is the complete package." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, gave it "universal acclaim" with a score of 83 out of 100 using 36 critics.