Nearly two years after its debut, creator Dan Erickson and EP/director Ben Stiller shed light on the reasons for the delays and the meticulous production process involved on the Apple TV+'s Emmy-nominated sci-fi series.
- Dec 5, 2024
AceShowbiz - creator Dan Erickson and EP/director Ben Stiller have opened up about the delay of fan-favorite show "Severance". According to them, the series, an intricate show that explores the consequences of surgically separating work and personal memories, has faced delays due to both external factors and internal writing challenges. Hollywood strikes in 2023 prolonged production, causing a six-month shutdown.
However, Erickson also emphasized the time-consuming nature of writing the series. "Each character has two lives-essentially, two personalities-and we are expanding," Erickson explained. "The writing was the most painstaking part of the process because there were so many ways we could go."
Stiller outlined the production timeline: writing took some time, filming began in October 2022, but was interrupted by the strike in May 2023. By that point, seven of the ten episodes had been completed. Production resumed in January 2024, with the remaining three episodes being filmed from January to May.
Erickson further noted that the show's meticulous filming process contributed to the delay. "We shoot pretty methodically, and we probably don't turn around as many pages of script per day as a lot of other shows," he said.
Additionally, the production team encountered challenges with locations. "There were entire locations that we were planning to go to. We had already built or partially built them when we realized, ‘Oh, that’s not going to work,'" Erickson revealed. "Those aren’t always fun calls to have with the studio."
Despite the challenges, Erickson emphasized the importance of striving for perfection, even if it meant rewrites and the abandonment of previously planned locations. "We were never willing to let that turn it into something that wasn’t perfect," he stated.
Season 2 of "Severance" will delve into the consequences of breaking the severance barrier, as Mark (Adam Scott) and his colleagues navigate a dangerous path. The cast includes returning stars Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, [c=Dichen Lachman, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette, and newcomer Sarah Bock.
