Unknown, unknown, Delaware, unknown and unknown - that's a perfect score!
Continuing my trip down The Guardian's Top 50 TV Shows of 2022.
#3 : Severance
Right as workers started shuffling back into the office at the end of the Omicron surge, Apple TV+ released a show that captured all those heightened tensions over our relationship with work, and condense them into one highly bingeable product. The result was Severance, a paranoid-thriller puzzle-box mystery. with a bewilderingly high-concept premise. Employees at shady biotechnology company, Lumon Industries, opt into a process where they are split into two selves: an “innie” and an “outie”. The innie has no memory of life outside the workplace, the outie remembers nothing outside their leisure hours. A tantalising prospect, you might think – but only if you’re an outie. The innie is essentially trapped in 24/7 servitude. For all its curious qualities, Severance never feels less than engrossing. That’s down to the performances by big-name stars including Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro and Christopher Walken, which fill Lumon’s sterile hallways with warmth and pathos. The show also looks gorgeous and, in Ben Stiller, boasts one of the most interesting directors working in TV at the moment.
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I've heard this is good, but I have absolutely no idea what it's about - and having read the description above, I'd have to say I'm no clearer. But it's just made me want to watch it more...
Wow - from the first minute, you can tell they've thought about this. And thought how to make it as challenging as they possibly can from a conventional "what I expect from a telly series" point of view.
Actually, it's really well done - it's quite a clever concept (as explained above), but it's also easily explained so you're like "ah - i get this". But, at the same time, it's so easily extensible than you know there's going to be more to it than that (as is made clear by the various characters involved).
But, how much more should I tell you? Not an awful lot really. It's a mix of paranoid thriller, workplace drama, prison escape and contemporary art project - mostly set in a 1950s office of the future. The "office" consists of Mark S (Adam Scott), Dylan G (Zach Cherry), Helly R (Britt Lower) and Irving B (John Turturro) who work at - well, who knows what exactly?!? Also present in the workplace are Ms Cobel (Patricia Arquette), Milchick (Tramell Tillman) and Ms Casey (Dichen Lachman) who are obviously up to no good, but - well, who knows what exactly?!? And, in parallel, other plotlines are progressing away from the office featuring the same, but separate, people.
Half way through I was very much wondering how they were going to end it - particularly as they were still introducing weird unrelated storylines. But actually, it's quite well done because some of the storylines aren't resolved but make you think "well, if they could do <X>, then why wouldn't they do <Y>?". And then there are storylines that they just introduce to mess with your head - like the baby goats, which are never really explained. The waffle party scene is PARTICULARLY bizarre though.
But, it does manage to work its way to a properly exciting ending - episode 8 has the most brilliant cliff hanger (it actually does cliff hangers quite well throughout the season) and the whole of episode 9 has you on tenterhooks waiting to see what's going to happen (and you have absolutely no idea how it might end). And yes, it poses more questions than it answers, but it does it in a reasonably satisfactory manner - but it pretty much leaves you on a cliff hanger so I suspect we'll be seeing a series 2...
It is well acted - the characters spend a lot of their time in a state of ignorance or confusion but they all have different and changing reactions and you're really sold on it. I've only known Adam Scott previously from Parks & Recreation and it's safe to say this is a very different role indeed and he plays it very well. Britt Lower also gets a definite shout-out because she goes on QUITE the journey over the season and John Turturro sneaks a special mention for the work he does in the final episode. I'd also call out Dichen Lachman - she doesn't have a large part but it's quite affecting and comes with an impressive twist. It's also a pleasure (as always) to see Christopher Walken - that man has popped up in the oddest places over his career, but he's definitely looking his 79 years now.
It also looks absolutely fantastic - there's a load of work gone into the design of the "innie" and "outie" worlds. There are also some very interesting visual effects employed at various times (which I can't describe) and I am very intrigued as to why - I waited until the end of the season to Google it to see whether it was explained in case it spoiled anything (nope - it was just because they could!). The episodes are all directed by either Ben Stiller or Aoife McArdle (a Northern Irish director who I wasn't previously aware of) and the whole thing was created by Dan Erickson, with this being the first thing of note he's done - and it's not a bad start at all.
It reminded me of both Twin Peaks and Legion in terms of the high levels of bewilderment it provided, but it felt like there was more of a grand plan behind the story here and less deliberate confusion just for the sake of it. It was nominated for 14 Emmy awards - and won two (it was unfortunate coming up against Succession, Ted Lasso and The White Lotus) for its score and title design. The latter of which totally shouldn't be an Emmy category - except for this year, when Severance totally deserved it. They are wild titles!
All in all, I really liked this - it was intriguing and bewildering, but not frustratingly so. It's well written and acted, it looks absolutely gorgeous and, in episode 9, it offers up an utterly enthralling and satisfying finale - I'll be back for more!
At the time of writing, it's available on Apple TV+ - I'm not saying it's enough to warrant taking out a full time subscription, but you can get it done in a month and it's certainly worth that.
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