Severance creator Dan Erickson says he's not afraid of the show's return after spending three years in production and that the new season is even better.
“It's much less [pressure] now than when we were doing it, and especially while I was writing it,” Erickson tells GamesRadar+. “Because there's always the question of can you live up to what you did before? Can you even replicate what you did before? Do you even understand what made it special? And so, you know, I had a lot of anxiety while we were doing it. You know, luckily I have a really good therapist, so that helped me.”
The critically acclaimed series first arrived on Apple TV Plus in 2022 and was quickly renewed for a second season. However, the show suffered production delays, leaving us on a three-year cliffhanger. The finale, directed by Ben Stiller and written by Erickson, has been considered by critics to be one of the best episodes of television ever made (and I agree). The second season takes place right where the finale left off. Erickson says that the more they finished Season 2, the “less scary” he found it.
“Because, when I started seeing the finished scripts, and then we started seeing sets, and finally we started seeing cuts of episodes. I felt a real relief of, well, it's still Severance. This feels like what we've done before. Whatever amorphous things that people love about the show and that I love about the show, it's still there.”
Three trailers have been released ahead of season 2, showcasing new characters, a brewing mystery about Mark's late ex-wife, and a host of spooky new changes made to Lumon's cut floor.
“In the end I thought, it's not just that it's still there. I think it's better. I really think this is a more exciting, scarier, stranger, and funnier episode than even the first season. So it's less scary now than what it was.”
Severance Season 2 arrives on Apple TV Plus on January 17. The first season is now streaming for free. For more, check out our Severance season 2 review or check out our set visit report and interview with Ben Stiller.