Severance: Actors Are As Confused As We Are About Lumon Industries

© Apple TV+

It is certainly one of the most anticipated series in 2025. This Friday, January 17, 2025, season 2 of Severance arrives (finally) on Apple TV+. Almost three years after the release of the first episodes, we can say that fans are particularly impatient.

At the same time, the series created by Dan Erickson and produced by Ben Stiller has left its mark and has been unanimously acclaimed by viewers. Between its impeccable aesthetics, its thrilling storyline and its mastered staging, Severanceis a must-see series. What also makes the series successful is the acting. Adam Scott spoke to the media The Verge about his experience.

Apple TV+ pushes the experience to the limit

With Severance, Apple TV+ does not do things by halves on the contrary. This Wednesday, January 15, 2025, the streaming platform took everyone by surprise to promote season 2 of the series by Dan Erickson and Ben Stiller. And especially New Yorkers.

Indeed, the Grand Central Terminal station in New York was the scene of a genius marketing operation. To highlight season 2 of Severance, a huge glass cube with a reproduction of the office of the protagonists of the series was installed in the center of the famous New York train station. Even better? The cast showed up. Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Britt Lower and John Turturro were there, reprising their roles and working at their respective desks as if nothing had happened. Tramell Tillman and Patricia Arquette, who play their supervisors, were also there. Enough to make us want to watch the series again even more.

Remember that Severanceinvites us to discover a rather unusual company. Mark Scout works for Lumon Industries, a tech giant. There, he works on confidential projects. So confidential that he had to undergo surgery to separate his professional life from his personal life. When he is in the office, he does not know who he is outside. When his work day ends and he goes home, he has no idea what he does at Lumon Industries. But the arrival of Helly R. in their offices will upset the fragile balance of the company and the daily lives of its extraordinary employees.

In the service of refining macrodata, Mark Scout and his colleagues spend their days spotting certain numbers on their computer screens. When they are “scary”, they must destroy them. Why ? The spectators and the employees of Lumon Industries do not know. In reality, neither do the actors.

© Apple TV+

As Adam Scott explains to The Verge, the computers we see on screen are functional. Thus, the actors must “analyze” the numbers and destroy some of them. While they look like old Apple computers (no kidding), bringing a touch of nostalgia to the cast, the computers used in Severance have their own interface, their own keyboard and their own trackball. Their use is a little unusual, especially since the buttons are placed in a way that is not very ergonomic.

Since the computers actually work, this has an impact on the actors’ performances. Of course… Indeed, when watching a series or a film, it is not uncommon for the object to be fake. But as the actors of Severancereally have to refine the numbers that appear on their computer screen, it brings more authenticity to their performances. The actors have to develop their own strategies and find their own meaning in them, which helps to support the confusion and alienation. This is totally in line with the series, in which the protagonists have no idea why they are working.

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