What's behind Severance's explosive success?
The show returned on Jan. 17 after a three-year hiatus, with the Season 2 finale scheduled to drop on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.
What's behind its explosive success? Part of it could be its portrayal of extreme corporate control that people find relatable, critics say, coming at a time when workplace issues are front of mind for many.
"I love this show. I think it's so thought-provoking and provocative and just impeccably directed, every single frame of the show feels very purposeful and deliberate," said Jen Chaney, a TV critic based in Washington, D.C.
The show is in a way a metaphor for compartmentalization, Chaney said. Between a never-ending news cycle and personal obligations, many people may be contemplating how to stay up to date while remaining productive in their everyday lives. (Apple TV+)
Though the show's concept may feel like it's from an alternate universe, she said, it still speaks to people's issues with the modern workplace, such as work-life balance.
"There is a component there that resonates with a lot of people."
A metaphor for compartmentalization
The Emmy-winning show, created by Dan Erickson and executive produced by Ben Stiller, follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott), who leads a team at Lumon Industries, a biotechnology company. Some of Lumon's employees have undergone a "severance procedure," which splits the consciousness of their work and personal selves, respectively referred to as their "innies" and their "outies." The innies work on seemingly mundane projects whose purposes are kept secret even from them.
The ethics of the experiment are called into question when Mark finds himself at the centre of an unravelling personal mystery. He and his fellow innies realize they must confront the true nature of their work and find out who they really are.
"It does an incredible job of capturing the drudgery of corporate life," said Amil Niazi, a Toronto-based culture critic.
The show is in a way a metaphor for compartmentalization, Chaney said. Between a never-ending news cycle and personal obligations, many people may be contemplating how to stay up to date while remaining productive in their everyday lives.
'The first season came at a really interesting point in time when people were really starting to re-examine their relationship to work. And the concept is just so immediately relatable,' said Amil Niazi, a Toronto-based culture critic. (Apple TV+)
"And even though Severance isn't saying any of that explicitly, I do think there's a little bit of a subtext in the themes of the show that maybe makes it extra resonant right now."
Timing a contributing factor
The timing of the show's release may have also contributed to its popularity. Season 1 of Severance was released in 2022, when the world was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, and workplace discourse centred around issues like "quiet quitting" — putting in the minimum effort required to keep one's job — and whether employees would be called back into offices.
"The first season came at a really interesting point in time when people were really starting to re-examine their relationship to work. And the concept is just so immediately relatable," Niazi said.
Ben Stiller, executive producer and primary director of Severance, speaks at the SXSW 2025 Conference and Festivals at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas, on March 9. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
"For all of the strange goings-on and the sci-fi aspect of the show, it really just asks, 'What if your work and home life were completely severed in two?' And I think that premise is really intriguing to a lot of people."
Reception to the first season was strong, but because of the pandemic and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, there was a three-year wait for the second season.
While such a gap in many circumstances would've killed a show, Niazi says it gave the show time to develop new fans in the interim and build a strong support base online.
"Ben Stiller has done an amazing job of really responding to fans, helping to feed some of the theories and really diving in on social media in a way that we're not used to seeing creators, especially at his star level, doing."
WATCH | Severance's Canadian cinematographer-turned-director:
Are you an innie or outie?
The success of Severance is also a win for Canadian cinematographer Jessica Lee Gagné, who made her directorial debut on Episode 7 of the show, to positive critical reception.
"I think we can relate to it in many ways," she said of the series.
"We are so lost in our phones, in our work, and we are numbing a lot and trying not to feel certain things. So we can all relate to this process of not wanting to face certain things in our lives."
However, she said, the innies' quest to find themselves may speak to "a voice inside of us that wants to come out," as well.
"I feel like we see parts of ourselves — and the fact that it's so well made and executed — people feel like something's been given to them."
The show's success is also a win for Canadian cinematographer Jessica Lee Gagné who made her directorial debut on the show, having also directed Episode 7 which has been hailed as a masterpiece by some. (Apple TV+)
Gagné sees herself as a reverse innie-outie.
"I definitely have been lost in my work for a really long time and forgot about myself. So it's almost like the person that everyone knows me as the outie is this cinematographer person. But my innie is kind of a director. And now it's like I found my innie and she's kicking and screaming."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
2 hours ago
China rushes to build out solar, emissions edge downward
TALATAN, China -- High on the Tibetan plateau, Chinese government officials last month showed off what they say will be the world's largest solar farm when completed — 610 square kilometers (235 square miles), the size of the American city of Chicago. China has been installing solar panels at a blistering pace, far faster than anywhere else in the world, and the investment is starting to pay off. A study released Thursday found that the country's carbon emissions edged down 1% in the first six months of the year compared to a year earlier, extending a trend that began in March 2024. The good news is China's carbon emissions may have peaked well ahead of a government target of doing so before 2030. But China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will need to bring them down much more sharply to play its part in slowing global climate change. For China to reach its declared goal of carbon neutrality by 2060, emissions would need to fall 3% on average over the next 35 years, said Lauri Myllyvirta, the Finland-based author of the study and lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. 'China needs to get to that 3% territory as soon as possible,' he said. China's emissions have fallen before during economic slowdowns. What's different this time is electricity demand is growing — up 3.7% in the first half of this year — but the increase in power from solar, wind and nuclear has easily outpaced that, according to Myllyvirta, who analyzes the most recent data in a study published on the U.K.-based Carbon Brief website. 'We're talking really for the first time about a structural declining trend in China's emissions,' he said. China installed 212 gigawatts of solar capacity in the first six months of the year, more than America's entire capacity of 178 gigawatts as of the end of 2024, the study said. Electricity from solar has overtaken hydropower in China and is poised to surpass wind this year to become the country's largest source of clean energy. Some 51 gigawatts of wind power was added from January to June. Li Shuo, the director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, described the plateauing of China's carbon emissions as a turning point in the effort to combat climate change. 'This is a moment of global significance, offering a rare glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak climate landscape,' he wrote in an email response. It also shows that a country can cut emissions while still growing economically, he said. But Li cautioned that China's heavy reliance on coal remains a serious threat to progress on climate and said the economy needs to shift to less resource-intensive sectors. 'There's still a long road ahead,' he said. A seemingly endless expanse of solar panels stretches toward the horizon on the Tibetan plateau. White two-story buildings rise above them at regular intervals. Sheep graze on the scrubby vegetation that grows under them. Solar panels have been installed on about two-thirds of the land. When completed, it will have more than 7 million panels and be capable of generating enough power for 5 million households. Like many of China's solar and wind farms, it was built in the relatively sparsely populated west. A major challenge is getting electricity to the population centers and factories in China's east. 'The distribution of green energy resources is perfectly misaligned with the current industrial distribution of our country,' Zhang Jinming, the vice governor of Qinghai province, told journalists on a government-organized tour. Part of the solution is building transmission lines traversing the country. One connects Qinghai to Henan province. Two more are planned, including one to Guangdong province in the southeast, almost at the opposite corner of the country. Making full use of the power is hindered by the relatively inflexible way that China's electricity grid is managed, tailored to the steady output of coal plants rather than more variable and less predictable wind and solar, Myllyvirta said. 'This is an issue that the policymakers have recognized and are trying to manage, but it does require big changes to the way coal-fired power plants operate and big changes to the way the transmission network operates,' he said. 'So it's no small task.' ___
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
China rushes to build out solar, and emissions edge downward
Climate China Solar TALATAN, China (AP) — High on the Tibetan plateau, Chinese government officials last month showed off what they say will be the world's largest solar farm when completed — 610 square kilometers (235 square miles), the size of the American city of Chicago. China has been installing solar panels at a blistering pace, far faster than anywhere else in the world, and the investment is starting to pay off. A study released Thursday found that the country's carbon emissions edged down 1% in the first six months of the year compared to a year earlier, extending a trend that began in March 2024. The good news is China's carbon emissions may have peaked well ahead of a government target of doing so before 2030. But China, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will need to bring them down much more sharply to play its part in slowing global climate change. For China to reach its declared goal of carbon neutrality by 2060, emissions would need to fall 3% on average over the next 35 years, said Lauri Myllyvirta, the Finland-based author of the study and lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. 'China needs to get to that 3% territory as soon as possible,' he said. China's emissions have fallen even as it uses more electricity China's emissions have fallen before during economic slowdowns. What's different this time is electricity demand is growing — up 3.7% in the first half of this year — but the increase in power from solar, wind and nuclear has easily outpaced that, according to Myllyvirta, who analyzes the most recent data in a study published on the U.K.-based Carbon Brief website. 'We're talking really for the first time about a structural declining trend in China's emissions,' he said. China installed 212 gigawatts of solar capacity in the first six months of the year, more than America's entire capacity of 178 gigawatts as of the end of 2024, the study said. Electricity from solar has overtaken hydropower in China and is poised to surpass wind this year to become the country's largest source of clean energy. Some 51 gigawatts of wind power was added from January to June. Li Shuo, the director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute in Washington, described the plateauing of China's carbon emissions as a turning point in the effort to combat climate change. 'This is a moment of global significance, offering a rare glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak climate landscape,' he wrote in an email response. It also shows that a country can cut emissions while still growing economically, he said. But Li cautioned that China's heavy reliance on coal remains a serious threat to progress on climate and said the economy needs to shift to less resource-intensive sectors. 'There's still a long road ahead,' he said. One solar farm can power 5 million households A seemingly endless expanse of solar panels stretches toward the horizon on the Tibetan plateau. White two-story buildings rise above them at regular intervals. Sheep graze on the scrubby vegetation that grows under them. Solar panels have been installed on about two-thirds of the land. When completed, it will have more than 7 million panels and be capable of generating enough power for 5 million households. Like many of China's solar and wind farms, it was built in the relatively sparsely populated west. A major challenge is getting electricity to the population centers and factories in China's east. 'The distribution of green energy resources is perfectly misaligned with the current industrial distribution of our country,' Zhang Jinming, the vice governor of Qinghai province, told journalists on a government-organized tour. Part of the solution is building transmission lines traversing the country. One connects Qinghai to Henan province. Two more are planned, including one to Guangdong province in the southeast, almost at the opposite corner of the country. Making full use of the power is hindered by the relatively inflexible way that China's electricity grid is managed, tailored to the steady output of coal plants rather than more variable and less predictable wind and solar, Myllyvirta said. 'This is an issue that the policymakers have recognized and are trying to manage, but it does require big changes to the way coal-fired power plants operate and big changes to the way the transmission network operates,' he said. 'So it's no small task.' ___ Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Associated Press video producer Wayne Zhang contributed. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at Solve the daily Crossword
Engadget
3 hours ago
- Engadget
Video Games Weekly: Silksong and Gamescom
Wed, August 20, 2025 at 10:16 PM UTC Koelnmesse GmbH; Thomas Klerx Welcome to Video Games Weekly on Engadget. Expect a new story every Monday or Tuesday (or Wednesday, whatever), broken into two parts. The first is a space for short essays and ramblings about video game trends and related topics from me, Jess Conditt, a reporter who's covered the industry for more than 13 years. The second contains the video game stories from the past week that you need to know about, including some headlines from outside of Engadget. Please enjoy — and I'll see you next week. On a planet shrouded in myth, in a land surrounded by lore, on a mountain draped in mystery, in a cave suffocated by secrets, the legend sleeps. For six years, the legend has slumbered while wild stories spiral around it, twisting and expanding and entwining. New words have been born and old words infused with evolved meanings: Believer. Doubter. Silkpost. The lies have grown so thick they've become corporeal, spreading trickery with a name and a dead smile. For six years, the legend has slept while the masses roiled, all of them waiting for the signal to awaken and know truth. All of them waiting for a bell that will ring, finally and clearly, on Thursday, August 21, 2025. Skong . Skong . Skong . It's a special time in the Silksong subreddit. After years of silence around its sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong , Team Cherry has scheduled a livestream with a 'special announcement' about the game for August 21 at 10:30AM ET. Not only is this exciting for Metroidvania fans everywhere, but it's also possible that this announcement marks the final moments of the Silksong subreddit as we know it. A strange cocktail of game delays, inconsistent updates and hyper-focused cult fandom has cultivated a fascinating little universe in r/Silksong, complete with its own rules, villains and heroes. It's a place where clown wigs are commonplace and contributors have turned trolling into a role-playing artform. A LARPform, if you will. It's a place that's consistently made me laugh every time it's appeared in my feed over the past year or so. Ahead of Thursday's special announcement, this sub is experiencing the last gasps of desperate myth-making and hopeless anticipation before it transforms into something else entirely, armed with actual information about the sequel, gameplay videos and maybe even a firm release date. Or, dare I say it, a surprise launch. For just a moment longer in r/Silksong, anything is possible. And then it'll be over. No matter what happens during Thursday's livestream, the day will come when Silksong comes out and the drip-feed of silkposts dries up completely. But for now, our face paint is ready. Sometimes it's just nice to recognize the madness and the beauty of the moment, before it slips away for good. The news News from ONL 2025 Gamescom 2025 kicked off on Tuesday with Opening Night Live, a showcase hosted by Geoff Keighley and the folks behind The Game Awards, and there were plenty of delightful morsels on display. Engadget UK Bureau Chief Mat Smith is on the ground at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, to play upcoming titles and talk to developers, but for now, here are our headlines straight out of ONL 2025: And our headlines from Gamescom 2025 so far: Gamescom 2025 runs through August 24. ROG Xbox Ally lands in October Microsoft is slowly establishing its handheld era with news that the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X will be available on October 16. There's still no official word on how much they'll cost, but there are hints: As spotted by Wario64, Best Buy recently listed the Xbox Ally at $550 and the Xbox Ally X at $900, and these fall in line with our predictions, which were based on the prices of existing ROG Ally handhelds. Alongside the release date, Microsoft announced the Handheld Compatibility Program, an initiative aimed at optimizing games for portable devices and informing players about how well they perform. It's essentially Steam Deck Verified, but for Xbox handhelds, and it's yet another sign that Microsoft's portable gaming ambitions stretch beyond just one hardware manufacturer. The PS5 will cost more tomorrow than it does today First Nintendo and Microsoft raised the prices of their latest consoles, and now it's Sony's turn. Sony on Wednesday announced the following price increases for the PS5 family: Standard PS5 with a disc drive: $550, up from $500 PS5 digital edition: $500, up from $450 PS5 Pro: $750, up from $700 Sony blames the increases on a 'challenging economic environment,' echoing sentiments from its contemporaries. The price hikes come at a time in the hardware generation when we're used to seeing consoles get cheaper, which just makes this whole thing more frustrating. There have been signs of turmoil at BioShock 4 studio Cloud Chamber for a while now, including news earlier this month that the game failed a review with 2K executives and was due for a complete narrative revamp. Now, we're seeing even more fallout. Former Gears of War and Diablo head Rod Fergusson has left Blizzard to lead development of BioShock 4 at Cloud Chamber, and his appointment comes alongside news that 80 people at the studio are being laid off. This is actually the second time Fergusson has joined the development of a BioShock game at the last second — he similarly swooped in and cut aspects of BioShock: Infinite at Irrational Games in 2012. The race through development hell between Judas and BioShock 4 continues. Blizzard's cinematic and narrative team is unionizing Microsoft is the home of another video game union. Workers with Blizzard Entertainment's Story and Franchise Development team, which handles in-game cinematics and lore for titles including Overwatch and World of Warcraft , voted this week to unionize under the Communications Workers of America. This covers about 169 developers and it marks the fourth unionization effort from Microsoft's gaming teams, joining QA workers at Activision, ZeniMax and Raven Software. Steam censorship is breaking PayPal PayPal isn't a valid way to buy games on Steam in certain countries any longer. Steam in July removed hundreds of games with adult and NSFW themes from its storefront, and updated its policies to ban "content that may violate the rules and standards' of its payment processors. This was incredibly vague and raised immediate concerns around financial censorship, especially when combined with a related culling of thousands of games from Now, it's confirmed that PayPal has terminated its partnership with Steam in multiple countries, affecting any denomination ' other than EUR, CAD, GBP, JPY, AUD and USD.' Valve says it's being pressured by payment processors including Visa, MasterCard and PayPal to remove certain games and implement puritanical censorship policies, and this has already resulted in at least one game being unjustly removed from the platform. That game, VILE: Exhumed , is now available as shareware. Roblox is changing its rules after so, so many child-safety lawsuits Roblox is locking down its system for sharing and viewing user-generated games following a wave of lawsuits accusing developers of failing to protect their young userbase. All unrated experiences, or user-created games, will be restricted to the developer and anyone actively working on them, rather than being available to anyone over the age of 13, as is currently the case. This change and others, including a new system that automatically detects and tracks "violative scenes" on individual servers, will roll out over the coming months. Analogue delayed its N64 remake again It's now due out in Q4 2025. :( Additional reading
