Latest news with #HellyR
Times
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Meet Britt Lower, the standout star of Severance
When Britt Lower, who plays the internet's favourite TV character, Helly R from the Apple TV+ series Severance, appears on my computer screen in what appears to be an entirely white room, there is one overwhelmingly urgent question to ask: is she zoomin' from Lumon? She makes one of her big open-mouthed laughs. 'No, no, it's a dressing room,' she says, looking extremely cool in an oversized black leather bomber jacket over a crisp white shirt. She angles the camera so I can see the rail of clothes behind her. 'Phew,' we say in sync. As Severance fans know (and there are a lot of us — the recently finished second series made it the most watched show in Apple TV+ history, surpassing Ted
Khaleej Times
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
UAE: How to master power dressing in 2025 using Apple TV+'s 'Severance' for inspiration
Eid celebrations are over, school holidays are winding down and regular office hours have resumed. The UAE is back to business. And, for the first time since Covid took a wrecking ball to office dress codes, workwear is at the top of the fashion agenda, thanks to the most-watched TV show in the history of Apple TV+, the sci-fi dystopian thriller Severance. If you've not seen it (and you really must), the overall premise is an exploration of what happens if our work lives are entirely separated from our home lives. The protagonists undergo a procedure that separates their conscious into Innies (corporate drudges tasked with 'work that is mysterious and important' for Lumon Industries, their employer and inventor of the severing concept) and Outies, the side of the self that gets to live life, blissfully ignorant of office politics, and immune from Sunday night dread as the work week looms. To be 'severed' promises the ideal work:life balance. As you'd expect from Apple, the production design is impeccable, a masterclass in storytelling through the use of colour. On the severed floor at Lumon, the protagonists of the Macrodata Refinement team are shown via a palette of almost exclusively blue and green. Not since the 1988 movie Working Girl made Melanie Griffiths' boxy suits and bouffant hair de rigueur, has office style been so aesthetically all-in. But while Working Girl was about power dressing, Severance's corporate automatons are powerless. Each day they are dressed by their Outie, consciousness switching to their innie persona in the Lumon Industries elevator. 'She dresses me in the morning, like I'm a baby,' bemoans Helly R, played by Britt Lower, of her Outie's control over what she finds herself wearing each day. While the conflict between Helly R's inside and outside selves is central to the show's narrative thread (no spoilers here), were I in her nude, block-heeled shoes, I'd be less quick to condemn my Outie's fashion choices. Like Apple's iconic founder, the late Steve Jobs, who wore an Issey Miyake black turtleneck, Levi's 501 blue jeans and New Balance trainers from the 1990s until his death in 2011, there is something to be said for a workwear wardrobe that is reliable, repeatable and rudimentary, as Lumon Industries' verbose Mr Milchick may or may not have said. As Severance 's central female character, and the standard bearer for the show's style credentials, Helly R's office wear, as chosen by her Outie Helena, revolves around some form of blue A-line pencil skirt, three-quarter length sleeve knit top, and those nude heels (specifically French footwear brand Repetto's Marlow style; designed for dancers, durable for eight hours at your desk, whether your job entails running down Lumon Industries' endless sterile corridors or not). There are no prints, no extraneous detail, and very little variation in silhouette, bar the occasional shift dress. Build a wardrobe of mix-and-match block-coloured basics, and you too can devote as little time as Helly R does to thinking about what to wear for work (even if her lack of sartorial say-so is down to bioengineering rather than free will). The trick is to find a palette you are comfortable working within, pun entirely intended. For me, it would be a spectrum of beige, from ivory to camel (do not attempt this if you have children under the age of five). Then, harness the discipline to shop only within those shades, sticking to simple shapes that suit your body type. Thus, in true Lumon style, freeing your creativity and frivolity to run wild outside of office hours. Just not too wild. Where Helly R's wardrobe is a lesson in restraint, it's wise to be discerning in your choice of televisual style cues. I once got carried away watching a Love Is Blind reunion show, ending up down a Google rabbit hole and impulsively ordering a floor-length rhinestone sheath dress from partywear brand Babyboo. It looked fantastic on screen, but, being neither a reality TV star, nor a highschooler with an upcoming prom, it has yet to emerge from its box. In a world of unlimited style choices, there's something to be said for limiting your shopping self's freedom of thought (Season 3 of Severance?). So, the next time a new series of Selling Sunset tempts me with the prospect of 150mm heels, I'll stream some discordant jazz and hit up Clarks for a Helly/Helena-approved court shoe instead.
NBC News
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- NBC News
'Severance' memes are everywhere as show boosts Apple TV+ viewership
Would you like your "outie?" What do Irving's paintings mean? And how about that Mr. Milchick? "Severance," now the biggest hit in the relatively short history of Apple's foray into the production of TV shows, has also emerged as a social media phenomenon, sparking an array of memes, fan-cam edits and theories speculating on what could unfold next. The show, which launched in 2022 and returned for Season 2 in January, follows a team of office workers at the fictional Lumon Industries, where they have undergone a 'severance' procedure that divides their memories between their work and personal lives. The show is now among the most streamed across all platforms, amassing 622 million minutes of viewing for the week of Jan. 20-26, according to Nielsen, which tracks viewership data. Since its debut, the sci-fi series has become part of the cultural zeitgeist, hooking viewers and inspiring dozens of think pieces about workplace culture and work-life balance. Much of the "Severance" fandom has become captivated by the show's dystopian premise, as well as the cohort of characters that make up Lumon's dedicated Microdata Refinement (MDR) team: Mark S. (Adam Scott), Dylan G. (Zach Cherry), Helly R. (Britt Lower) and Irving B. (John Turturro). The severed 'innies' have no knowledge of their 'outies,' because while the two share the same body, the consciousness of an 'outie' shuts off when entering the severed floor. In Season 1, some of the "innies" partake in wellness checks, where they're told by Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman), a wellness counselor on Lumon's severed floor, what their "outies" enjoy. The interactions with the character have inspired a " Your Outie Likes" meme on TikTok and X. In the videos and posts, viewers often joke about how they might not actually like their "outie." "Your outie's top artist on their 2024 Spotify Wrapped was Limp Bizkit," says the voice-over in TikTok user Hunter Hopewell's video, which has amassed nearly 350,000 views. "Your outie has shared the celebrities singing 'Imagine' 12 times during the pandemic." "Are you sure this is my outie?" Hopewell says, visibly showcasing disappointment in the satirical video. On X, users participated in the trend by posting a still of Ms. Casey's character and using the prompt, "Your outie..." Another popular meme emerged in 2022 after Scott's character, Mark S., tells his colleagues that the work they do is "mysterious and important." Many use a screenshot of the scene, in which Mark S. is seen with his finger raised as he delivers the line to Helly R. Meanwhile, on Reddit, users who identify themselves as "innies" and "outies" debate theories about the show's mysterious plotlines. One user even participated in the meme trend, writing in a recent post: "Your outie spends his time writing dumba-- theories on r/severance." The popularity of 'Severance' has helped usher in a new era for AppleTV+. While the streaming service has garnered praise in Hollywood, notably for its Oscar-winning film 'Coda ' and the Emmy-winning 'Ted Lasso,' much of its original programming had failed to break through online. The streamer's rivals, like HBO and Netflix, have seen mainstream success, with shows such as 'The White Lotus' and 'Bridgerton,' respectively, generating both critical acclaim and online buzz. With 'Severance,' AppleTV+ has seen a boost in paying consumers. Last month, Apple TV+ reported a +126% increase in new subscribers between Jan. 1-19, 2025 vs. Dec. 1-19, 2024, according to Deadline.
