Severance - page 2

Severance costars Patricia Arquette and Adam Scott faced off in a funny, face-melting hot chicken wing-eating contest Tuesday in a new video from the show Hot Ones Versus.

In the words of the show, “today, these co-stars will have two choices: Tell the truth, or suffer the wrath of the Last Dab. Whoever eats the most wings, loses!”

The wings are spicy enough for the show to call them “Wings of Death,” and their spicy pain showed in the actors’ suffering as well as the teeny, tiny little bites they took when they missed a question.

In our Severance season 2 episode 3 recap, I confess I felt my patience with the endlessly weird show might expire, as yet another maybe-just-weird-for-weird’s-sake thing happened. But then an intriguing puzzle piece appeared, dangled like a treat, and my rising impatience fell away. For now. In a good puzzle-box show, that’s how it works.

Last week’s episode 2 showed what it took, from outies’ perspectives, for Mr. Milchick, Helena Eagan and others to get the innie Macrodata Refinement crew back to work after the Overtime Contingency allowed them temporary freedom. This week’s episode goes further down innie rabbit holes, slowly luring us toward who the hell knows what. But at least there are a lot more goats, and an improved-yet-still-dangerous outlaw reintegration procedure might be outie Mark S’s path to cracking Lumon’s mysteries and finding his wife.

In other words, the whole season’s story arc became more clear in this episode.

Apple TV+ dropped a Severance promo video Friday with cast members reading and (mostly) debunking online fan ideas guessing at answers to the show’s mysteries. But at the end of the video, executive producer and director Ben Stiller offers a clue that “no one talks about.” Is it a real clue, or is he just trolling everybody?

You can view the new fan-theory video and an older one below. They mention many theories, though even more exist online. And some fans says these videos ignore the best theories that seem more likely to be true (take your pick from cloning, aliens and more).

In yet another promo for Apple TV+’s intriguing workplace thriller Severance, Apple CEO Tim Cook gets in on the action. Severance director and executive producer Ben Stiller dropped a video Friday morning on X.com starring the mild-mannered tech honcho. Cook reports for orientation as an innie on the severed floor of Lumon Industries.

The video is short, but Cook isn’t bad — especially in the elevator, where he shows his severed transformation in consciousness (with the help of some special effects). Then, near the end of the video, he made me laugh out loud.

In our Severance season 2 episode 2 recap, we discover the lengths to which Lumon Industries went to clean up after the Overtime Contingency (OTC) that enabled the rebelling innies to briefly escape to the outside world at the end of season one.

In last week’s season two debut, the Macrodata Refinement (MDR) crew came back to work on the severed floor. This week’s episode, “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig,” doubles back to show what it took for Mr. Milchick, Helena Eagan and others to get them there. It doesn’t quite have the first episode’s high impact — it brought the show back to us after season one’s climactic cliffhangers three years ago — but it clarifies matters while introducing new questions.

In yet another creative promo for its hit workplace thriller series Severance, Apple TV+ dropped a new video Wednesday that masquerades as a Lumon Industries management training video.

“Lumon Industries is proud to present the Lumon Management Program — otherwise known by its breviloquent moniker of LUMP,” Apple TV+ wrote on X, announcing the video. “Today’s practicum: Integrating New Team Members.”

The psychological workplace thriller series Severance proved to be a major success story for Apple TV+, generating over $200 million in revenue from its first season alone, new analytics data shows. And it’s not the only Apple TV+ show bringing in big bucks for the iPhone giant, according to a new report. So how much money do Apple TV+ shows make? See below.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The latest rumors indicate the iPhone 17 Pro camera will get a major upgrade. Shocker!

Also on The CultCast:

• Just how thin will the iPhone 17 Air be?
• Three lesser Apple products should get big upgrades in 2025.
• The next version of CarPlay might be even more awesome..
• With the Severance season two premiere imminent, the creative Apple TV+ marketing is off the hook.
• Erfon and Griffin get jazzed about the recently hyped Nintendo Switch 2.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

The Apple TV+ sci-fi series Silo didn’t lose viewers as it approached the end of season two. It stayed on the lists of the top 10 most popular streaming series maintained by two ratings companies. just as it has since new episodes started appearing in November.

And Apple’s deeply odd workplace drama Severance did well with audiences as its season two premiere approached.

After a three-year wait that felt longer than a day working at Lumon Industries, Severance is finally back! The season two premiere, entitled “Hello, Ms. Cobel,” picks up right where we left our favorite corporate drones. In our Severance season 2 episode 1 recap, we look at the fascinating twists and turns that prove the show hasn’t lost its edge. As the season goes on, let’s see if it keeps it.

Commuters trudging through Grand Central Station in New York City got an eyeful of Apple TV+ series Severance on Tuesday. That’s because employees of the bizarre workplace dramedy’s fictional Lumon Industries appeared to work on Lumon terminals behind glass for all to see in the historic train terminal’s grand halls.

Severance stars Adam Scott, Zach Cherry and Britt Lower entered the fake Lumon workspace Tuesday afternoon. And soon enough, Patricia Arquette and Tramell Tillman appeared. Earlier in the day, other people staffed the workstations.

That promotional stunt and a new “Lumon Is Listening” video, which promotes Lumon’s Severance brain surgery as a work-life balance solution, go hand-in-hand with the show’s own creepy weirdness. Check out the images and video below!

The Apple TV+ marketing department sure kept itself busy Tuesday. A space-suited denizen of the streamer’s hit sci-fi series Silo showed up in the stands at an NBA game ahead of the show’s season two finale, which arrives Friday.

Earlier Tuesday, a Severance office popped up in New York City’s Grand Central Station. The pop-up drew stars from the show as well as plenty of curious commuters ahead of the Severance season two premiere, which also arrives Friday on Apple TV+.

Apple TV+ ran a full-court press on the promo stunts this week, a departure from the norm. What else could be in store?

There are so many Apple TV+ shows to look forward to in 2025! There are new seasons of some of the streamer’s best shows coming, along with new series and even a cool-looking film or two. Get ready for dramas, comedies and lots of sci-fi.

Cult of Mac writers picked the Apple TV+ shows we’re most excited about in the coming year. Keep reading or watch our video to fill out your Up Next queue early.

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. If you’re preparing for season three and catching up on all things Apple, you might also want to check out how to activate Apple AirTag—and while you’re at it, read up on Apple TV+ renewing Severance for a third season.

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.

Fans of hit Apple TV+ series Severance — call it a surreal workplace thriller — would expect nothing less than to have their heads exploded by the season two trailer. And without too much exaggeration, that’s pretty much what they get with the video Apple TV+ dropped on YouTube Wednesday.

It leaves you with nothing but tantalizing questions. Like: What the hell are they doing? Well, whatever it is, we want in. The January 17 streaming date can’t come soon enough. Watch the teaser trailer below.

Popular young movie stars Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy star alongside Sigourney Weaver in the upcoming thriller film The Gorge on Apple TV+, the streamer revealed Thursday. It noted the film, which has no firm release date yet, will get promoted along with season 2 of hit series Severance at pop culture festival CCXP24 in early December.

“They’re not keeping you out. They’re keeping them in,” reads the tagline for the Apple Original Film. And in bigger news for fans of the mind-bending workplace drama series, Apple noted Severance returns with its second season January 17 (for those who don’t already know).

Apple reportedly wants to reduce the amount of money it pours into its Apple TV+ streaming service. And the company also wants to get more bang for its buck.

The result likely will be fewer Apple TV+ shows, and decreased spending on marquee projects. Plus, underperforming series can expect to get canceled more quickly.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: We dissect the latest Apple rumors, which go from incredible bummer (Apple Watch) to potential breakthroughs (iPhone and HomePod).

Also on The CultCast:

• The latest iOS 18 beta brings some welcome new changes.
• A teaser trailer and a release date get us psyched for season two of Severance.
• Griffin tells us all about a keyboard with a peculiar name in a new Under Review segment.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Just as we thought when Apple put out a Severance teaser Tuesday in Morse code saying nothing but “tomorrow,” word of a season 2 air date arrived Wednesday, along with a spooky teaser trailer. But our wishful thinking that the air date would come in fall 2024 was just that. It’s actually slated for January 17, 2025. And in the meantime, the short trailer below is worth a watch. It brings eerie Severance vibes.

Apple TV+ dropped an odd Severance Morse code teaser video Tuesday that simply spells out “tomorrow,” suggesting news about the workplace thriller’s second season will arrive Wednesday. We expect an air date announcement for fall 2024, and perhaps more.

Apple offered a scant first look at the upcoming season of the hit show during the WWDC24 keynote in June. But other than that, fans of the funny and disturbing workplace thriller have had little to go on — until now (or until tomorrow, that is).

One of the most popular, critically acclaimed and flat-out weird shows on Apple TV+ — the darkly comedic workplace thriller Severance — has resumed production on season two after pausing for the recent writers strike.

Apple posted on X (formerly Twitter) about it Monday. Take a look below.

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Fans who miss the psychological dark dramedy Severance on Apple TV+ can now drone out to a full day of the show’s ghostly piano-based theme song with the “8 Hour Work Day Innie Mix,” which Apple released Tuesday on YouTube.

Get it, innies? You can play the eerie mix for your whole 8-hour workday. It’s like having the show’s credits roll all day in your head as you start to question your choices in life.

The Writers Guild of America is on strike, causing problems both immediate and long-term for TV and movie production. And Apple TV+ certainly is not immune.

Production on two Apple series already stopped because of picketing, including the bugle popular Severance. And that raises questions about other series and movies.

Production on the second season of Severance, the Apple TV+ thriller about a profoundly creepy workplace, has seen delays because the series’ two showrunners hate each other, according to a recent report.

Scripts were scrapped amid the two not speaking to each other as director Ben Stiller searched for help. And it seems he finally found it. Stiller also downplayed on-set drama in a tweet.

Looking for your next science fiction binge? Apple TV+ offers some excellent sci-fi series to keep your eyes popping and (more importantly) your brain humming.

From mythic procedurals to New Testament space operas, Apple TV+ gives viewers a number of exciting science fiction series worthy of a watch. Some seem hilariously literal, while others prove truly fantastical. No matter your tastes, there’s something for every sci-fi fan.

Here are our picks for the best science fiction shows on Apple TV+.