Severance is perhaps the most ambitious show in a large portfolio of incredible ones on Apple TV+. Created by Dan Erickson and produced by Ben Stiller, Severance dissects the horrors of an uneven work-life balance by showing the lives of an office that has been severed from their thoughts at home. The characters essentially live two separate lives in which they don’t know about the other version of themselves. It’s a science fiction concept that uses a large dose of satire, especially as we live in an age in which more people are trying to gain control of their time when companies use up so much of their employees’ existence.
Severance just finished a second season that some fans complained was a little too slow and confusing. The season finale included a musical sequence and some answers about the innies (the work version of the characters) and outies (the personal life version of the characters) that fans had been waiting for since the beginning of the show. Apple TV+ has renewed the show for a third season, and hopefully, there won’t be a three-year wait for the encore this time around. This is everything we know so far about Severance season 3.
What will Severance season 3 be about?
The main storyline in the show will likely continue to be about Mark (Adam Scott) and his reunion with his wife, Gemma. The second season finale saw Mark save Gemma from the testing area of Lumen Industries. The romantic plot in the show helps to ground the sci-fi and give everything a human element. The other parts of the show wouldn’t be as fascinating if fans weren’t rooting for these characters to learn about themselves for the purpose of living a normal life with the ones they love.
Will Severance season 3 have any guest stars?
The main cast of the show features some of the most talented actors in TV right now. Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, Britt Lower, Jen Tullock, and John Turturro should all continue to feature in season 3, but the show has also been great at effectively using guest stars. Adrian Martinez, John Noble, and James LeGros made appearances in season 2, while season 3’s guest stars haven’t been announced yet. As the show continues to introduce new parts of Lumen and the characters who have been severed from their personal lives meet their work counterparts and vice versa, the show will cast new actors to play the family members and friends of both personas.
How Severance became a phenomenon
There was no doubt that the concept behind Severance was a homerun. As people have started to work for themselves, as entrepreneurs, and for companies in remote settings, the discussion around how much of ourselves should be given to a corporation in modern America is one of the dominant topics of the decade. People struggle not only with gaining financial independence through their jobs, but they see how an even more vital resource is being robbed: time.
Severance’s main themes surrounding co-dependence between work and home were ideal because they were contemporary and universal at the same time. A good idea for a show doesn’t always mean it gets executed to the highest level, but that’s exactly what happened with Severance. The science-fiction elements, conspiracy theories, and creativity on display helped the show take off like a freight train. Even if viewership isn’t as high as on other streaming services and Apple TV+ is a financial loss for the company, the series has been an Emmy heavyweight and one of the hottest topics on social media.
When will Severance season 3 come out?
Severance was just renewed for season 3 on March 21. Much like Stranger Things, the show has become known for its incredibly long gap between seasons. The first season came out in 2022 before the 2025 release of season 2. There were a lot of factors that contributed to the hiatus, notably the writers and actors strikes that hit Hollywood in late 2023. Ben Stiller confirmed that without a labor stoppage this time around, the next season should arrive on Apple TV+ much sooner than this season did.
I think it would be smart to look at other dramas that have come out recently to see when the show might return. The Last of Us season 2 is coming out after a little over two years in hiatus. Yellowjackets season 3 came out after a two-year break, as well. It would feel like a reasonable expectation for the show to arrive in late 2026 or early 2027, depending on when the writer’s room and filming commence.
Severance has become the streamer’s signature show in the same way Breaking Bad did for AMC, The Sopranos did for HBO, and The Mandalorian did for Disney+. Expect Apple to want to streamline the creative process to come out with the third season in a timely manner so that its brand name can stay in the news.
