Metro, ????, Dodo: "Severance is an angry series"

Metro, ????, Dodo: “Severance is an angry series”

The largest Apple TV+ series is back after three years of radio silence. Between doubts, criticism of capitalism and debate on the innate and the acquired, the showrunner Dan Erickson lifts the veil on season 2 of Severance. Guaranteed interview without disclosure.

In a basement named “Severed Floor” (“cut off”), four employees of Lumon Industries, a firm specializing in biotechnology, perform an absurd task: sorting figures on an obsolete screen. Thanks to a cerebral chip that they have voluntarily implanted, they forget everything from the outside world as soon as they arrive at work, and vice versa. This process, called “Severance”, divides their conscience into two: “outy”, dedicated to personal life, and “innie”, limited to intrigue and office conflicts.

Fascinating fantastic-comic thriller at the crossroads of Brazil,, Lost,, The Office,, Truman Show,, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind And The fourth dimensionseason 1 of Severance ended with a reversal of the situation which rebuilt all the cards. With the promise to give the Innies and Outs a common goal in raising the actions of the mysterious enterprise that uses them (we will say no more to save those who take the train on the move).

After an absence of three years which gave him time to develop his status as a cult object with a wider audience, Severance Confirms with its season 2 that the endless expectation was not in vain. Less focused on the office comedy, these ten new episodes are refocusing on the study of the double personalities of its protagonists and expand a mythology already my duty. Original DNA is intact but the darkness settles, while some answers to the mysteries (just enough) point to their nose. Obviously, one of the major series of the 2020s, chiseled and elegant, which scraped its time where it hurts.

The showrunner Dan Erickson tells us about the challenges of this stunning season 2, and the difficulty of maintaining the level without betraying the series.

“Yes, three years between two seasons, it’s long.

But you were aware that there was the scorer of the scriptwriters and then actors in Hollywood. Technical unemployment. And relaunching an entire production, it is not done in a snap of the fingers … I had not taken a look at the scenarios for five months and, frankly, I had even intentionally dismissed the series of my mind. Funny period. There was a readjustment phase, where we wondered if we were sure to be on the right track. The pressure was strong, since season 1 was very well received. And when you want to be up to expectations, it’s extremely difficult not to constantly doubt yourself: am I always faithful to the tone of the series? Was season 1 just a stroke of luck? All this can quickly get you to the head. »»

“I read everything that is written online on Severance.

Absolutely everything. I love to see people react with so much enthusiasm and speculate on the resolution of mysteries. In a perfect world, I would like to satisfy each fan of the series. Except that it can be a trap, because by trying to please everyone, we are sure not to please anyone. So I try to hang on to our initial plan. Before bringing the writers together, I have a general idea of ​​the way I want the season to end and the points that I want to connect. And then the road that we take necessarily changes a little in the face of the reality of writing. But it’s exciting, new possibilities are constantly opening up to us. »»

“I wanted us to avoid rehearsal or familiarity.

If the series was starting to look like a thriller, a science fiction film or an office comedy as we see so much, then it was the beginning of the end. And we absolutely had to continue playing with the shape. People feel when a series rests on its laurels, so it was necessary to approach this season 2 like a challenge. I was a stress ball, horrified at the idea that we realize that I am only an impostor. Fortunately, I have a lot of good friends and a very good therapist (Laughter.). We consciously developed the series to a darker tone, following the model of The counterattack empire : In the second chapter, you have to put the characters in the face of a greater danger and watch them struggle. I liked the idea of ​​the idea of ​​testing this group – this “family” – and their loyalty, because I knew that Lumon would see this camaraderie as a challenge and would try to break them. So, as writers, we had to do the same: look for cracks in this unit and see if these people are strong enough to hold on together. »»

“One of the great challenges of this season has been to find the balance between Innies and Outies.

In season 1 – At least in its first part – the pleasure was to look at the Innies going to their occupations and argue for gums or pencils (Laughter.) We consciously cut short this at the end of the season. They crossed the Rubicon, impossible for them to go back and make office jokes. So we had to find a way to change the dynamics, to let these characters react to the horrible discoveries they have just made, but without changing their personalities. »»

“To what extent do we write innies and outcies as different characters?”

You put your finger on the big debate of our writing room (Laughter.) Difficult to answer and this is quite normal, since the questions about the innate and the achievement are fundamentally the subject of the series. This is all the more dizzying when we write the character of Helly (Brit Lower), whose innie and outy seem radically different. But does its character traits are not simply expressed differently depending on the context? What is frightening is that the border is fine between a fighter who wants to free himself from his chains and a tyrant … In my opinion, this is where the series begins to become really interesting. »»

“The series is responsible for let us know what is good for it.

Sometimes I finish a scenario and I reread the next day with the impression that it is not quite Severance… And at one point, something starts and it becomes very clear that we are on the right track. With season 2, we consciously developed the series to a darker tone, following the model of The counterattack empire : In the second chapter, you have to put the characters in the face of a greater danger and watch them struggle. I liked the idea of ​​testing this group – this “family” – and their loyalty, because I knew that Lumon Industries would see this camaraderie as a challenge and would try to break them. So as a screenwriters, it was logical to do the same. We had to look for cracks in this unit and see if these people are strong enough to hold on together. »»

“We wanted a cliffhanger very different from that of season 1.

We tried to reproduce the scheme of a very tight episode, almost in real time. But it didn’t work in the context of this season, you had to aim for something else. I’m not going to get into detail, however I can tell you that we have found an option which competes with the final of the first season. Something so cool and thrilling, but at the same time completely. »»

“I am one of those who really loved the end of Lost.

At least when it was broadcast. I had written on Facebook: ” Thank you lost, it was perfect. And then time spent and I discovered that many people did not think it was perfect at all (Laughter.) In any case, there are a lot of lesson to learn from those who preceded us. The writers of Lost were pioneers and the weight weighed on them should not be underestimated at the time. I know that they did not have enough control on the moment when they could conclude. But things are different for us: the plan that we have developed is both solid and malleable enough to be able to adapt. We have discussed a number of seasons, but nothing has yet been stopped. So we go ahead while keeping in mind that anything can change. When I presented Severance To Ben Stiller (producer and director of many episodes) then to Apple, I always said that there was a version of the series that would have a super unique season, and another where there would be ten. »»

“” Severance is not exactly an anti-capitalist series.

If only because I am not intelligent enough to offer an alternative economic system. On the other hand, it is a series angry with what our current form of capitalism does to the human mind. We have to navigate between trying to be fully ourselves and adapting to this machine which, in proportion, never makes us as much as it is given. We feel that people are crazy about the situation and I hope Severance manages to express this very real and perfectly justified anger. »»

“Ben Stiller has always been central and decisive for the series.

It is impossible for me to imagine making the series without the help of Ben, because it is as much the fruit of its intuitions as mine. He always makes sure that we keep the humanity online in the characters, which often comes to thwart, in the right sense, my slightly crazy impulses. Ben is able to channel a good idea and push it in his entrenchments, but without ever forgetting the emotional aspect. I have caught up on my delay since but, like many people I think, I knew him especially through his comedies. I was very pleasantly surprised to discover this other facet of Ben, the more dramatic side. »»

“I know that the rhythm of weekly broadcasting frustrates some people.

Me too, I sometimes feel this impatience in the face of certain series. But I like the social aspect that it creates: to happen at work, to discuss the episode in almost real time with other people who follow the series … It is well worth the frustration of waiting a little longer. This format stimulates conversation and promotes interactions in real life, which is, in my eyes, an excellent thing. But it is also a scriptwriter challenge and a big question when you think a new series: should we write by adapting to a viewing of a single block, as many people do, or imagining spread over ten weeks? This completely changes the situation, and it is a problem that did not exist before, in linear television time. »»

“The future will only be made of traps to avoid.

This is what I start to understand (Laughter.) We obviously talk about the future with the team – and that’s all I can say for the moment! It may be ridiculously optimistic on my part, but I think this season 2 was the hardest to do, because it was the first time that we measured ourselves. And as I am very satisfied with these new episodes, it gives me a lot of confidence. If we were able to get there twice, then we can do it a third! Without forgetting that each season brings its share of new challenges… ”

Severance season 2 is available on Apple TV+, one episode per week.

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