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

Season 1 ended on a jaw-dropping finale episode, with many of our heroes left in the lurch. However, the new trailer for season 2 has given us some details.

The series appears to pick up right where season 1 left off, after Mark discovered that his wife is still alive, and after Helly's bombshell revelation to the crowd at the Lumon event.

The gang have been reverted back to their innies - but, when Mark S returns to the office, he doesn't find Helly and co, but a sea of new faces. What's happened to them?

Plus, that's Milchick coming his way with a menacing smile and a bunch of balloons...

So, as we wait for season 3 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 17th January 2025.

Two episodes will be released at once, with the remaining eight episodes airing weekly on the streamer, as was the case with season 1. The finale will drop on 21st March 2025.

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

You can watch it below:

The series 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 has 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."

In the same interview, star John Turturro, who plays Irving, teased that we're "diving into the unknown".

Severance season 2 cast

The confirmed cast list for Severance season 2 is:

• Adam Scott as Mark Scout
• Britt Lower as Helly
• Zach Cherry as Dylan
• John Turturro as Irving
• Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel
• Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick
• Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman
• Dichen Lachman as Ms Casey
• Jen Tullock as Devon
• Michael Chernus as Ricken Hale
• Gwendoline Christie as TBC
• Aia Shawkat as TBC
• Bob Balaban as TBC
• Merritt Wever as TBC
• Robby Benson as TBC
• Stefano Carannante as TBC
• John Noble as TBC
• Ólafur Darri Ólafsson

We're expecting the majority of the main cast, led by Adam Scott and Britt Lower, to return. In October 2022, Variety reported they'll be joined by some new faces.

Game of Thrones and Wednesday star Gwendoline Christie, Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat, The French Dispatch's Bob Balaban and Unbelievable's Merritt Wever are among them, though who they'll be playing remains a mystery at this stage.

However, a teaser released earlier this year did give us a clue, as Christie's character appears and tells Mark and Helly: "You should have left." Sinister!

Robby Benson (One To One), Stefano Carannante (Mirabilia), John Noble (The Lord of the Rings) and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (The Tourist) have also been confirmed.

Given that some other guest characters died during the course of season 1, it’s less clear whether they’ll continue to be involved in the story (for example, Yul Vazquez’s 'Petey', who met his demise in season 1, continued to appear in flashbacks and archive footage).

Is there a trailer for Severance season 2?

Yes! Check out the teaser 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!

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

Severance season 2 plot

We finally have some confirmed details about season 2! The released logline is: "Mark and his friends learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe."

We've also got some clues from various teasers. Previously, Apple TV+ released a sneak peek, with the footage showing Mark re-entering Lumon, as Tramell Tillman’s Milchick tells him: "Welcome back. Been a minute."

In another clip from the footage, Mark switches between his split personalities while lying on the conference table before running down a hallway.

Ceator Dan Erickson also 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."

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?

Stiller has already offered some insight into what to expect from the second instalment, teasing there would be answers (and more questions) in store.

"I think it’s important for fans of the show to know that the unanswered questions do need to be answered at some point. It’s just, I think we feel this responsibility to do it in a way that is both responsible and entertaining," he told Deadline.

"Part of the fun of the show, I’ve found, is that people have so many different theories and ideas and thoughts about it, so there’s a responsibility you have, and one thing I can guarantee you is that [creator] Dan Erickson has thought about this, and thought about it a lot over many years."

Meanwhile, Turturro has told Collider: "I think it'll be really interesting. There's a lot of real interesting stuff for people who really like the show and it definitely takes a step forward and shows the other side of the characters."

He added: "We felt that there’s a balance [to aim for], because if too many questions are answered, then you don’t have a chance to really speculate and live in the world as much.

"So, we’re trying to figure out how to live in that world and figure out that balance, but the answers are there. It’s just, we want to try to mete it out in a way that feels fun and satisfying."

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+.

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.