Severance is a science fiction thriller that recently aired on Apple TV. It is directed by Ben Stiller and stars Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, and Britt Lower. The show is an impressive combination of high-level direction, stunning visuals, and nuanced performances that delivers a non-stop ride that grips viewers all the way through. It is being seen by some as a watershed show, taking elements from previously successful TV shows like psychological thriller shows like Black Mirror and marrying them to a persistent plot and characters. The show has deep themes and metaphors for viewers to sink their teeth into that give the show a fantastic atmosphere. All of these elements combine for an original show that is a shame you can only see it for the first time once. The series boasts a near-perfect critic and a high user score on Rotten Tomatoes after its first season. Let's take a closer look at what elements the show includes that give it its stellar reputation.
Engaging Premise
First and foremost, the show manages to hammer out a solid foundation for its character through an engaging story. The story follows an employee at Lumon industries named Mark. The company that Mark works at employs a Science fiction concept known as severance. Severance is a mindwipe medical procedure that separates the consciousness of a person. The company uses this to separate the employees' private lives and their lives at work. This is done to create a work-life balance and improve productivity at the company. However, some of these employees start to develop significantly different personalities inside and outside of work due to their different life experiences. This escalates to the point that employees' different consciousnesses basically become different people.
These new personalities start to develop their own agendas that can run counter to the original person's will and the company's mission. Mark is a severed employee himself that starts to notice strange inconsistencies at work. Because severance makes it impossible to access your memories outside of work, he is forced to investigate the conspiracy slowly. This conspiracy turns out to involve a mysterious project that many employees start to get involved with unknowingly.
Fuses Black Mirror and 1984 to Create Something Better Than the Sum of Its Parts
The show combines different clever ideas together that draw on the viewer's natural instinct towards paranoia and encourages them to reflect on it. Severance takes on philosophical concepts from the sci-fi nightmares of Black Mirror and throws in themes of social control and conditioning without hitting you over the head with its themes. It maintains a tightly-written narrative that doesn't let its themes or exposition drag down the story. As the plot shifts into high gear, you get to feel the payoff of the slow reveals that completely change the game. The show takes a cynical look at new-age technology that does its best to paint the future of office life as one of the worst things we have to look forward to.
Stellar Performances
Adam Scott is the headliner of the show, and despite being associated with comedy shows like Parks and Recreation, he shows he has the right dramatic chops for this kind of show as well. The supporting cast does a great job as well and features actors like Christopher Walken and Patricia Arquette.
Mystery Plot Done Right
Some viewers of TV series often complain about the overuse of the "mystery box" approach to shows like these. The mystery box approach can often be used to keep the viewer on the hook without ever delivering any satisfying payoffs. Famous examples where the mystery box formula went wrong are in shows like Lost and Star Trek: Discovery. These shows built up mystery after mystery and either did not answer the mystery satisfyingly or left so many loose ends that there is no proper resolution to the elements that drew viewers in. Shows like these often become victims of their own hype and employ ideas that sound cool but haven't been thought through to their logical conclusions.
Immaculate Atmosphere
One standout element of the show is the perfect atmosphere that director Ben Stiller creates. Through a precise story and exceptional visual storytelling, he creates a creeping feeling that is never absent from its scenes. In an interview with The Daily Show, Ben Stiller agreed that he used film techniques like holding on shots for a long time to try to instill a certain feeling in the viewer whenever possible. This style creates a mysterious atmosphere that never lets the nagging questions of the plot truly ever be forgotten by the viewers. While watching the show, the excellent soundtrack also adds to the rich feelings in many shots and scenes.