Severance has overcome the relative obscurity of Apple TV+ to launch into mainstream television discourse with the debut of its critically acclaimed second season. Ben Stiller is behind the scenes writing and Adam Scott stars as the lead in an ensemble cast about a group of office workers that starts to figure out the truth about their job: their employer has split their personalities between home and at work. The concept is creative and opens up a lot of different science fiction storylines as well as elicits commentary on modern-day employers and how they control people’s lives in the real world.
Severance only airs new episodes once a week, leaving fans with an empty part of their schedule until the next thrilling hour comes out. While there aren’t many shows exactly like Severance, plenty have at least one or two aspects of the show’s occupational hazards and dystopian sci-fi environment. These shows like Severance should entertain you for hours.
Upload (2020)
Upload resembles Severance mainly in the ways that it combines two different entities for the same character. In the show’s world society has evolved to the point that people can live on after death through a computer program. This digital afterlife doesn’t always align with what the deceased thought they were going to get when they signed up while alive. Robbie Amell is serviceable as the main character whose life starts to become a little more clear after death when those he left behind are still affecting him in the digital world. Upload is one of the best original sci-fi series to release on Prime Video in the last several years.
Devs (2020)
Devs is a little more of a murder mystery than Severance, but the same principles apply. The show discusses the ways that companies completely overtake their employees’ lives, even to the point of murdering workers. Software engineer Lily must figure out whether her employer is responsible for the death of her boyfriend all while keeping herself safe during the investigation.
The Leftovers (2014)
The Leftovers thoughtfully debates the reasoning and purpose of life after a chunk of the world’s population disappears without any explanation from the face of the planet. Much like Severance, the show makes audiences understand that different parts of the human experience are out of their control and accepting that fate is crucial to survival. Justin Theroux is one of the most underrated lead actors in TV history and the show was unfairly overlooked for Emmy Awards.
Maniac (2018)
Maniac represents a hallucinatory trip through several different characters’ minds after they fall victim to an experimental drug trial. Emma Stone and Jonah Hill are the big names in the cast as the show deals with themes of self-control, human purpose, and multiple personalities with a touch of humor and biting commentary about pharmaceutical drugs.
Mr. Robot (2015)
Rami Malek is known for his Academy Award-winning performance in the musical biography film Bohemian Rhapsody, but TV fans should also be familiar with his big break in the cult hit Mr. Robot. A show about the dangers of cybersecurity invasion and how much personal information companies know about their clients, this series originally aired on USA Network before finding new life on streaming services like Prime Video.
Orphan Black (2013)
Orphan Black details the perilous life of a woman who learns about her clone and must escape the dangers that identical version of herself was embroiled in. The show is exactly like Severance with the themes of people living double lives, people with multiple personalities, and discussing what makes a human unique. This one went five seasons so there’s a lot to unpack unlike some of the other shows on the list.
Corporate (2018)
If you want a bristling satire of corporate workplaces that doesn’t hold back on its commentary, Corporate is the show you’re looking for. While it doesn’t have any sci-fi or dystopian elements, Corporate is a daring comedy and stars some great TV veterans such as the late Lance Reddick and Matt Ingebretson.
Homecoming (2018)
Homecoming stars Julia Roberts and a large ensemble of actors as former military members who try to start a new life away from the service but their pasts creep into their present more than they anticipated. The anthology deals with government interference and human control. This Prime Video series was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award in 2019.
The Consultant (2023)
The Consultant doesn’t possess the same sharp writing as Severance, but the alpha-dog level performance by Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz more than makes up for the uneven plotting. The show follows a couple of workers at a video game company who have their worlds turned upside down after the CEO is murdered and replaced with a creepy and powerful new boss (played by Waltz). The show ended on a cliffhanger but there has not been any announcement of a second season yet for this Amazon Prime Original. That’s probably not good news, so go into this one thinking of it as a miniseries.
