Severance creator reveals "crazy" pilot moment cut by Ben Stiller
Dan Erickson revealed the world of the show was originally a "more heightened reality".
The second season of Severance is now just around the corner, and fans are excited to dive back into the surreal world of Lumon Industries, crafted by the show's creator Dan Erickson and lead director Ben Stiller.
However, it turns out this world was once going to be even more surreal, as Erickson has revealed a moment from the original pilot script which Stiller questioned, leading to key changes to what viewers eventually saw on screen.
Speaking in the latest issue of Radio Times magazine, Erickson said: "The original pilot was even crazier – it had a more heightened reality, like Terry Gilliam’s Brazil or even Monty Python. At one point a pair of disembodied legs run by in the background.
"Ben asked me why and I had no idea! He encouraged me to tighten up the weirdness, to ensure that everything was grounded in a logic, even if it’s not the logic of our world."
Fans will no doubt be waiting on tenterhooks to see how the story progresses in season 2, and whether any of the ongoing mysteries are resolved.
Read more:
- Severance season 2 review: Synergy is still electric as we circle back to office workplace thriller
- Severance star teases "really interesting" season 2: "It definitely takes a step forward"
For his part, star Adam Scott has teased what fans can expect from the new season, telling RadioTimes.com: "Season 1 was watching Innie Mark gradually grow disillusioned with Lumon, with this place that he believes in wholeheartedly, his whole identity is wrapped up in this place and Lumon, with Kier and Ms Cobel, you know, who’s like a mother figure to him.
"He loves this place, and it's all he knows, and so we watch him gradually grow disillusioned with it.
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"By the end of the season, I think he figured he had hit the ceiling of how disillusioned he could be with this place, but then he finds this explosive piece of information in his Outie sister's house, and I think that blows the doors off, as far as anything he ever thought could happen, how depraved a company or a person could be. I don't think his mind had ever even gone there.
"So we're kicking the season off with Innie Mark having this piece of information and how that will affect him down at MDR, whether he'll be able to take that information and get it to his Outie, and how he would even try to do that.
"Who knows, but that's where we're starting. That's where the season is teeing off.”
The latest issue of Radio Times is out now – subscribe here.
Severance season 2 launches on Friday 17th January on Apple TV+ with new episodes airing weekly. Season 1 is available now. Sign up for Apple TV+ here.
Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
