Is Severance in danger of melting down before we even get to see a Season 2? Don’t worry: Ben Stiller says we don’t need to put in for a transfer just yet.
“No one’s going to the break room,” Stiller, who serves as director and executive producer on the Apple TV+ sci-fi drama, assured fans in a tweet that addressed reports of turmoil on the set that may delay the upcoming second season. He added: “We’re on the same really slow schedule we’ve always been on. Same target air date we’ve always had. Love our fans and each other and we all are just working to make the show as good as possible.”
Earlier on Friday, Puck News reported that Season 2 of Severance is facing significant delays due to a falling out between co-showrunners Dan Erickson and Mark Friedman. Per the report, Erickson and Friedman “ended up hating each other” before Season 1 was even finished, which resulted in a “toxic” work environment. Script issues as well as a ballooning per-episode budget are also said to be a problem, with House of Cards creator Beau Willimon quietly joining to assist with Season 2 (and beyond).
Before Stiller weighed in, a source close to the show also disputed the Puck report, telling TVLine that Severance Season 2 “is on schedule, the budget is the same as Season 1, Dan, Beau and Mark are all working together… [Beau] was hired for Season 3 and since they don’t have a traditional writers’ room, it made sense he would get involved in the current season as well.”
Severance stars Adam Scott as a worker drone at the mysterious Lumon Industries, where employees volunteer for a procedure that surgically separates their work lives from their home lives. Season 1 debuted in February 2022 and earned 14 nominations at last year’s Emmys. It was renewed that April ahead of the Season 1 finale; no release date has yet been set for Season 2.