Severance season 2: Release date, plot, trailer, latest news

Of course, the Apple TV+ show's cast and creatives have been out and about building up buzz for the new season, and Mark actor Adam Scott chatted exclusively to RadioTimes.com about season 2 making things very complicated between his Innie and Outie.

He teased: "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."

Meanwhile, executive producer and director Ben Stiller has made some unnerving real-life comparisons, comparing the show's lack of control with those in the entertainment industry, when speaking with The New York Times.

He said: "At a certain point, there’s always somebody making a decision who is not making it to your face or you don’t even know who that person is."

Stiller added: "Why a decision is made is never explained to the creative person. Or, if it is, it’s usually not the truth. It’s a cliché in Hollywood, but it’s kind of true that everybody will say yes and it doesn’t mean yes. It means no or let me think about it – more than ever, honestly."

So, as we wait for season 2 to grace our screens, here's everything we know so far.

Severance season 2 release date

Severance season 2 will begin streaming on Apple TV+ on Friday 17th January 2025.

Apple TV+ confirmed the highly-anticipated release date news with a teaser, alongside the message: "Like you never left."

The remaining nine episodes will be airing weekly on the streamer.

Writers for the series include: Dan Erickson, Mohamad El Masri, Wei-Ning Yu, Anna Ouyang Moench, Erin Wagoner, Mark Friedman, and Adam Countee & KC Perry.

Severance season 2 went into production on season 2 in October 2022 but was then delayed due to reported creative disputes as well as the Hollywood strikes.

However, producer Ben Stiller later shut down reports of any drama, saying on X (formerly Twitter): "No one’s going to the break room. Love our fans and each other, and we all are just working to make the show as good as possible."

In early January 2024, Stiller confirmed that he was "working on" Severance season 2, but more good news came later in the month – when Apple TV+ confirmed that the instalment was in production.

Sharing a shot of Scott's Mark Scout running down a corridor, they described the picture as: "A black and white action shot of Mark S (Adam Scott) running down a long white hallway. On the right side of the picture is a large camera recording the scene, confirming Severance season 2 is in production."

The series wrapped filming in April 2024.

Creator Ben Stiller opened up about the long delay in bringing season 2 to screens – after all, season 1 launched in February 2022, so it'll be almost three years before the show is back on Apple TV+ in January 2025.

He told Variety: "It’s been an interesting, trying time over the last few years to make things, on all levels for people. So to keep that focus on trying to make the best possible season, being aware that it’s taken a long time.

"I, like other people, get frustrated when things take a long time. I want to have the next season sooner. So I understand that feeling of the expectation.

"It’s taken a long time. I hope it’s good. You know, people are just wanting something to live up to what they’ve experienced and have it hopefully not let them down. And so, I don’t know, all you all you can do is try to do what you think is good."

Meanwhile, Erikson told Deadline: "For me, the writing was the most painstaking part of the process because there were so many ways we could go.

"And sometimes we would come up with something that worked perfectly well on paper, and then it wouldn’t be until we got there and we’re shooting it that we realise: This isn’t quite it. We were never willing to let that turn it into something that wasn’t perfect."

He explained that whole sets were constructed before the team realised they needed to change course, and they wouldn't be used.

The team behind the show won't confirm how many seasons are left to go but Erickson revealed they do know how it will all come to an end.

He told io9: "I have a pretty solid idea of the endpoint of the show. I have kind of a final scene that has always been in my head and answers to some of the big questions.

"I think you sort of have to know those in order to know the rules of the world that you’re writing. But also, I think it’s balanced because I like to be surprised by the show too."

Most recently, the premiere for season 2 had to be cancelled due to the wildfires in Los Angeles.

A statement from Apple TV+ confirmed that the event, which was due to take place at the TCL Chinese Theater, which is on Hollywood Blvd, would be cancelled, with the streamer donating to relief efforts.

"As devastating wildfires continue to impact the Los Angeles area, and with safety as our first and foremost priority, we have made the decision to cancel Monday’s Severance season 2 premiere event," Apple TV+ said in a statement.

"Apple is donating to support the relief efforts on the ground and our thoughts and heartfelt support remain with everyone who has been affected by these tragic fires. Thank you for your understanding."

Is there a trailer for Severance season 2?

Yes! Check out the official trailer below:

How many episodes will be in Severance season 2?

Good news – Severance season 2 will consist of 10 episodes, one more than season 1!

There'll be a lot to get through – so the longer episode count can hopefully only be a good thing!

Severance season 2 plot

The official logline of season 2 is: "Mark and his friends learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe."

Of course, that doesn't give away a huge amount, but the stars have been opening up a bit more about what we can expect.

First off, the trailer sees Mark and co arriving back at Lumon after their eye-opening adventure in the outside world. They arrive back to find new members of staff have joined the department.

With his world now shattered, and his time as an Outie now over, Mark has to deal with the fallout of MDR’s coup on the company as we pick up right where we left off for season 2.

Scott told RadioTimes.com of how season 2 begins: "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."He teased: "Who knows, but that's where we're starting. That's where the season is teeing off.”
One thing that's sure to be addressed is Mark and Helly's growing affection for each other, and the complications that's going to cause, after Mark discovered his wife, who he thought was dead, is actually alive, and that Helly is actually Helena Eagan, a descendant of mysterious founder Kier Eagan.

“That's really complicated,” Scott told RadioTimes.com.

“That's kind of like where the show... I think it lives, in terms of that tension,” he added. “Just, on my end, the tension of this idea of this first season where we've seen this relationship grow, and really these Innies grow as people, almost start to mature.

“You could say that they're kind of like children in the first season, and we've said in the second season, it's like they're turning into adolescents, or they're starting to just test the bounds of their world and develop emotional connections with each other.

“Those two aspects, Mark's Outie and Mark's Innie, are really at odds with each other in season 2.”

While we're going to have to wait for the ins and outs (if you will) of the plot, it's also been said that the tone of the series is taking an even darker turn.

Creator Dan Erickson told Vanity Fair: "I think things get darker. We very much wanted to put our heroes in a scarier place because season 1 ends with them poking the bear.

"They form this little rebellion, and they’re able to achieve a modicum of success with it, but the question with season 2 was: What happens when the bear pokes back? What’s the fallout of this victory that they had? I think, without giving much away, the fallout is dire."

Stiller added: "When [season 1] came out, it was fun to look at all of the reactions and how people would kind of dig into theories.

"We wanted to pick up the story where it left off. We’re bringing the Innies to the Outie world and then will answer some questions by the end of the season. Hopefully we keep it enough of a mystery and intriguing enough that people want to keep following the story."

Plus, we're going to see more within Lumon and in the outside world.

Erickson previously teased to Esquire: "There’s definitely going to be some expansion of the world. Within Lumon, we’re going to see more of the building, and we’ll see more of the outside world, too."

He added of the show as a whole: "There’s an overall plan for the show. I have an end point in mind, and I intentionally didn’t plan it season by season, because I wanted it to be flexible enough that we could get there in two seasons or six seasons.

"I want to allow us to be surprised by where the show goes."

How did Severance season 1 end?

Severance’s first season ends on quite the cliffhanger, so fans will be thanking Kier himself that a second season is coming to pick up where things left off.

After a season of following the severed 'Outie' life of Mark Scout and the separate 'Innie' life of Mark S, the final episode combines the two plotlines, with 'Innie' Mark waking up inside his body outside of the Lumon building for the first time.

And he’s not alone – thanks to Dylan’s (Zach Cherry) operation of the Overtime protocol, his MDR co-workers Helly and Irving both awaken in their 'outie' bodies too.

Irving (John Turturro) discovers the unsettling paintings he’s been painting of an ominous corridor in the Lumon building, then tracks down his beloved Burt (Christopher Walken) – only to discover he has a partner on the outside. Still, he’s ready to confront outie Burt as the credits roll.

Similarly, Helly (Britt Lower) discovers some hard truths. It turns out her 'Outie' is none other than Helena Egan, part of Lumon’s senior staff who undertook being 'severed' as a PR exercise.

Onstage at a fancy gala, she exposes the truth of the severed employees’ miserable existences.

Meanwhile, Mark (Adam Scott) tells his sister the truth, only to discover even more lies.

Seeing a photo of 'his' wife, he realises something the audience (and the bigwigs at Egon) have known for a while – she’s still alive and working at Lumon as the mysterious wellness rep Ms Casey (Dichen Lachman).

Mark S desperately tries to communicate this in the seconds before his 'Outie' returns to control, shouting "She’s alive!" as Dylan is tackled in the Egon control room.

Altogether, there are a lot of plot threads to pick up in a second season. Will Helly and Mark’s revelations cause a public backlash against Severance? Did Irving reach Burt? And how will the severed MDR employees be punished when they return to Lumon for their next shift?

We also still don’t know what exactly MDR are working on at Lumon, how Mark’s wife survived, why Ms Cobell (Patricia Arquette) was testing her and Mark’s interactions, or whatever the hell was going on with the baby goats.

In short, there’s an awful lot still to get through, so thank goodness we’re getting more episodes to unravel it all. Waffle parties all round!

Severance season 1 is streaming now on Apple TV+. Season 2 will be released on Friday 17th January 2025.

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.