Spoiler alert: This story contains details from Season 2 of “Severance.”
It was a packed finale of “Severance” Season 2 and to say it was dramatic would be an understatement. Though the season didn’t end in a cliffhanger like the previous, a conscious choice by executive producer Ben Stiller, it still left viewers with plenty of questions.
The good news, however, is that the series has been renewed for another season, which means “all appears to be well at Lumon Industries,” Apple TV+ said in the renewal announcement Friday.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and Stiller jointly announced the series renewal on social media, with Cook, writing “Season 3 of Severance is available upon request. Tim C.”
The Emmy Award-winning Apple TV+ show follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott) as he leads a team at Lumon Industries whose employees have undergone a severance procedure that surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives.
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Season 2 of the series, which broke records as the most-watched series on Apple TV+, saw Mark and his friends learn “the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe,” according to the series description on Apple TV+.
Stiller, who directed five episodes this season, in a statement, said making “‘Severance’ has been one of the most creatively exciting experiences” he’s ever been a part of.”
“While I have no memory of this, I’m told making season three will be equally enjoyable, though any recollection of these future events will be forever and irrevocably wiped from my memory as well,” Stiller joked.
Scott, who plays the titular role of Mark Scout and also serves as executive producer, in a statement, said he “couldn’t be more excited to get back to work” with the “Severance” team, adding, “Oh hey also – not a huge deal – but if you see my innie, please don’t mention any of this to him. Thanks.”
Here’s what to know about Season 3 of “Severance,” including potential release date and cast.
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Exclusive interview: Adam Scott and Ben Stiller unpack the twisty ‘Severance’ Season 2 finale
Will there be ‘Severance’ Season 3?
Yes. Apple TV+, on Friday, formally announced that “Severance” would be returning for Season 3. The announcement does not come as a surprise, given that the series is the top streaming series on Apple TV+.
Stiller appears to have a multiple-season endpoint in mind for the series and speaking to USA TODAY’s Gary Levin, the executive producer had said the ending (of Season 2) sets up even more questions and theories for a show already filled with them.
“Where’s it going, what is their fate, what’s going to happen in the next moment? That’s an intriguing way to end it,” Stiller said.
“Severance” has been created by Dan Erickson, who also serves as writer and executive producer on the show. Besides Stiller, Season 2 directors include Uta Bresiewitz, Sam Donovan and Jessica Lee Gagné.
When would ‘Severance’ Season 3 release?
Apple TV+, in the announcement, did not specify when Season 3 would release.
Previously, Season 1 of “Severance” premiered on Apple TV+ on Feb. 18, 2022, while Season 2 dropped after almost three years on Jan. 17. Based on this, it is likely that Season 3 will also release in the first few months of the year, either 2026 or 2027.
Stiller, during a recent appearance on “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce,” assured fans that they would not have to wait another three years for the next season to release.
While on the episode, when Travis asks Stiller if fans would have to wait another three years for the next season of “Severance,” Stiller replies: “No, the plan is not. Definitely not.”
“We got hit with the strike – there was a writer and actor strike, and it took us a little bit to regroup,” Stiller said on the podcast, explaining the long gap. “We shot for 186 days on Season 2. Editing takes a while but thank goodness the audience was there when we came back.”
Work on the next season is reportedly already underway with a writers’ room in Los Angeles, Stiller told The Hollywood Reporter in February interview (before the new season was announced), adding he “hopes not to keep audiences waiting three years this time.”
Stiller also revealed on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” that the “Severance” team already knows how the series will end.
“We know what the ending is, but how we’re getting there, is the creative process,” Stiller said on the show.
‘Severance’ cast
While Apple TV+, in its announcement, did not divulge any cast details, it is likely that much of the main cast would be returning for the new season.
Here’s a list of actors and their characters in Season 2 of “Severance”:
- Adam Scott as Mark Scout
- Patricia Arquette as Harmony Cobel
- John Tuturro as Irving Bailiff
- Britt Lower as Helly Riggs
- Zach Cherry as Dylan George
- Dichen Lachman as Gemma Scout
- Jen Tullock as Devon Scout-Hale
- Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick
- Michael Chernus as Ricken Hale
- Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman
One actor not expected to return is Sarah Bock as Miss Huang, who fans said goodbye to in the penultimate episode of the season.
Who is Miss Huang? Meet the college freshman behind the eerily young ‘Severance’ character
How did ‘Severance’ Season 2 end?
In the final scene of “Severance” Season 2, Mark and Gemma race through those hallways toward an exit, but in a crushing turn of events, innie Mark pushes Gemma out the door, hesitates and then decides to stay behind. As Gemma pleads with him from outside the door, he turns around and spots Helly at the other end of the hall; he turns, embraces Helly and they run once more down those endless white hallways, holding hands. The season ends in a freeze frame as “The Windmills of Your Mind” plays on the soundtrack.
“We knew that was going to be the ending for a while,” Stiller says. “We sort of played with the idea of ending on Mark looking between the two, but it felt clear, after having this cliffhanger ending in Season 1, I didn’t want to do that to the audience. It always felt this was the natural way that Mark’s innie would go. And what we wanted to do in the second season was set up in (the Gemma-focused) Episode 7 enough of a reason that you would feel some heartbreak and you would feel torn, and part of the audience would be going, ‘Yeah, I’m with him; go with her,’ and part would go ‘I can’t believe he’s doing that.’
Scott approves of the decision not to torture viewers with more uncertainty. “It would be cruel and unusual to end it on something like that. I’m so glad that we ended where we did, because I love the sequence of Mark and Helly running through the hall and the music; it’s really fun.”
‘Severance’ burning questions: Gemma, Helly, Mark and that maze of hallways
How to watch Season 2 of ‘Severance’
With the finale now streaming, the entire Season 2 of “Severance” is available to watch on Apple TV+ with a paid subscription.
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Contributing: Gary Levin, Greta Cross, Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
