anyone seen SEVERANCE yet?

Yes, he is.

This show reeks of THX-1138 to me, especially the visuals. Not sure how on board I am.

I love this show SO much

Stiller is so good at noticing all the dumb mundane bullshit in daily life & making hilarious, scary or just weird & i love it

everyone is great. intro credits freak me out.

i loved the awkward dinner party in the first episode - all that stuff like it was impolite to call ww1 anything but the great war, lol bc ww2 hadnt happened yet & the weird oohs and ahhs around the table

the CONFERENCE CALL in episode 3. where she has to speak but doesnt get to hear the board’s responses bc theyre filtered to her through a functionary with more juice than she has. incredibly perfect.

i'm just going to assume that Michael Chernus's character being named Rickon is a reference to him being Cool Rick in my beloved Patriot

Oh yeah, PATRIOT. Keep meaning to watch that.

Does it bother anyone else that they never seem to do any work? I know it's implied but idk

No.

it's a corollary to them not remembering the work day. when you're actually at work, you only remember hallway conversations and getting coffee

Petey is probably the best super-distressed and disheveled character since William Windom’s Commodore Matt Decker in the “Doomsday Machine” episode of Star Trek: TOS.

otm

Ben Stiller a pretty big Star Trek head so not out of the question he was channeling that somehow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpVOEp3HMjc

Does it bother anyone else that they never seem to do any work? I know it's implied but idk

Loving the increasingly cultish vibe at the office but dreading the inevitable moment this show becomes all about Mark joining the underground resistance.

agree but it is so far handling getting there well, dig the pacing & minimalist vibe

hate this show so much, there i said it

hey, someone has to

I liked the setup, not sure how I'm feeling about the progression so far. The little office world and the cast of bizarre characters is kind of charming, but it's not quite pulling me in and I feel like it needs to start going... somewhere.. soon

Turturro and Walken playing weird dudes that are kind of vibing about the art in their brainwipe prison

Does it bother anyone else that they never seem to do any work? I know it's implied but idk

I assume that the "work" is only an excuse to keep running this experiment. That said, I am finding it all a bit Wes-Anderson-does-dystopian. A lot of whimsy, not a lot of real substance.

the show's kind of reminding me of that amazon one, Homecoming

I hate Ricken so much

Petey’s cellphone has hella battery life

I love Ricken. That actor's played some ridiculous characters in the same vein and I get why that type of guy drives people nuts, but I enjoy that on screen

tbh I don't really see how you have the show without a Ricken-type character.

ricken is so hilarious to me, i love him. feels like there is a lot of Stiller’s humor in that character specifically. like, idk, literary Zoolander. he’s SO oblivious

I can also imagine that writing that book must have been great fun.
I'm enjoying this show more as it goes along. I thought in the beginning that it was boring and I didn't like it, but I've got into its pace now.

I was surprised to discover that there are only two episodes left in the season

that passage from Ricken’s book about “camaraderie” being based on the word “camera” nearly killed me

A lot of these shows seem to have only eight episodes per season.

xpost omg yes we were dying

A lot of these shows seem to have only eight episodes per season.

Yeah, it feels like an artistic decision that will turn out to have some business reason behind it, like eight episodes doesn't count as a full union season, so everyone's salaries don't automatically increase at the start of the next season, or something like that.

Seems clear that the season will end with Mark joining the resistance and with few questions resolved

Hard to argue with.

Although I do think we will probably get a few more reveals about people's, um, Outies.

This is fun, and thanks for the recommendation -- I wouldn't have noticed it without reading this thread.

I'm watching it during covid isolation - which feels a litle on the nose

Only seen three episodes - central cast is terrific. So far, the comic tone feels like it undercuts the dramatic tnsion - but maybe that'll change. And there's too much resting on the mystery denoument.

But it rules as My Little Isolation Show and everyone's lovely company (so far)

New episode is up. Never sure what time it actually drops. At one point I was getting alerts for certain shows.

Tell you one thing: I really dig Patricia Arquette’s nosy neighbor routine despite myself.

Spook too soon maybe

A lot of these shows seem to have only eight episodes per season.

This one has nine.

Loved the reveal at the end of this episode (although was expecting something along those lines but maybe a different character)

Renewed for season two too

Oh, and that defiant jazz reward scene was fantastic

Yes it was

Also Burt's retirement video was straight up comedy

I'm hoping Burt and Irv are actual outie partners.

Had that thought too

I doubt this was influence, but this show reminds me a bit of the film/MST3k episode Parts: The Clonus Horror: clones are raised on a campus with no contact with the outside world as "spares” for the person they were cloned from. The clones are treated in a simple, almost childlike way similar to how the work incentives at Lumon are juvenile things like finger traps, or how they are spoken to at the wellness session. Clones are given a big party when they "graduate”, which actually means they are whisked to a surgical room to have their organs harvested, similar to how Burt’s retirement seems to mean he (the innie, at least) effectively cease to exist, despite it being presented as a joyful occasion. The influential/rich people who commission the clones for parts don’t consider their clones to be actual people, similar to the outie’s attitude to the innies. And, of course, the plot is that the clone protagonist becomes aware of the outside world and finds a way to escape and expose the operation.

I keep thinking there might be some cloning aspect to this show as well and wondering when Petey 2.0 will show up.

Because of baby goats, because Haley R. tries to commit suicide but then the next day only has some bruises, because the guy’s wife dies in a car crash but then lives on as an innie

The only thing about that theory is that you don't want the clones to get old, surely? Young organs are better than old ones, so would you let them reach traditional retirement age before you "retired" them? But it does seem plausible otherwise.

A moment there of Eyes Wide Shut.

The only impressive thing about the Clonus movie was the casting for the young & old version of the protagonist. It was eerie! Everything else about it was hilariously bad, hence the stellar MST3K episode.

turturro is still my fave but the guy who plays milchick is great too - doesn't look like he's done a ton of stuff before this.

lumon sure does love having super-creepy parties. whether it's a dance party, an egg party, or a waffle party, it's going to be creepy and have intense lighting.

burt keeps painting the hallway down to wherever adam scott's dead wife goes when she's not working - so presumably he has some knowledge of whatever goes on back there? or he has gone through the same process as her (cloning/revivification)?

In season 2 I'd like to see a bit more of how society outside of Lumon functions. 'Rickon and friends' had their own (pretty innocuous tbf) cult-y vibe, independent of the obvious cult of Kier stuff at Lumon. Curious if that's indicative of a more widespread predilection towards cultiness among people living in this town. It's been a while since I watched it so I might have forgotten some other societal context/tidbits to confirm or deny this, though.

In season 2 I’d like to hear more Joe McPhee.

- Outies *can* terminate their employment? Wouldn't Outie Irving question his compulsion to make dozens of paintings of a terrifying hallway?

well we know from all the documents in his house that Outie Irving is attempting to investigate the company in some way. The painting is possibly an attempt to access his memories of what happens when he's at work?

We are maybe halfway through this and it’s really good, Adam Scott (and more specifically, his face) just perfect casting for this. The humour is a very underrated part of this.

It's a really well-calibrated performance -- never too dark, too comic, too cowardly, too heroic -- it's just the right mix of each. You can see when he's thinking, and when he's not thinking. "The straight man, but not in a dull way" always seems like a difficult one to pull off.

^Booming post.

We are maybe halfway through this and it’s really good, Adam Scott (and more specifically, his face) just perfect casting for this. The humour is a very underrated part of this.

Easily one of the best episodes of telly ever. I'm going to stick with my 'I'd be happy for it to end there' opinion. It's pretty much perfect and I'm scared they're going to fuck it up.

Yeah I know what you mean. It reminded me of the s1 finale of Utopia which had two reveals I actually screamed at, and which I would have been happy for the show to end there - although s2 gave me some of my favourite television ever.

Chinaski otm.

Totally get that and agreed that if that was all we got, it's an exquisite way to end, but at the same time I BADLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

When my wifed suggested we watch this show I reluctantly agreed, fearing it would be a very heavy-handed show about workers right and whatnot and nothing more than that, but holy shit I was hooked from the first minutes of the first episode and we binge-watched the whole season. I can't remember the last time I loved a TV show so much.

Based on what the creators have said, it sounds like they have a lot of it planned out, so I'm optimistic about the next seasons

I don't have Apple TV but have been staying at my bandmate's house for rehearsals and she does, and I managed to finish this last time I was down. Bloody love it, but personally I feel like there was too much left unfinished in the last episode, great as it was. At least one of the plot, character or emotional arcs needed to be resolved for it to not need another series, and they were all left open. To be fair, my desire for more concrete resolution might be due to the precariousness of my viewing ability.

I really want to do a Music Experience options poll but I fear non-Severance fans might hate me for it.

Bob Balaban! Alia Shawkat! some other people i don't know or don't care as much about! https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/severance-season-2-cast-gwendoline-christie-alia-shawkat-bob-balaban-1235418421/

From the casting you'd guess a Severance x Knives Out crossover. Fun list for sure. Ólafur Darri Ólafsson!

Merritt Weaver! xp

That large a number of high profile new cast members certainly suggests they aren't going down the route of 'reset the status quo to the maximum extent possible' route

amazing series throughout -- been watching it alternating w/Andor (two episodes left in that) and watching the dystopian prison episodes of the latter at the same time as this was reaching its climax was an interesting vibe

Honored to talk about my performance on Severance here 🙏 pic.twitter.com/NHIzu13MMo

— Rajat Suresh (@rajat_suresh) March 11, 2023

How good

Rajat and Jeremy are absolutely terrible and I mean that in a complimentary way

Finished this tonight! It's quite good for six episodes then amazing for three. It could have maybe gotten amazing more quickly but fine, I can live with that.

What I'm most struck by is how fucking weird the outside world is (even by the standards of our IRL outside world rn) - how stygian, how deranged, how isolating and stilted. Something is fucked-up and it goes beyond Lumon

Having thought that the actual work might be a macguffin, I do also think it is probably quite important to find out what they do and what its wider implications are. But that's probably one for the S2 finale

Wait, what episode was Defiant Jazz because that one's just straight up amazing?

yeah, it's episode 7

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt11280740/episodes/?season=1

i now note that imdb agrees with me on when it jumps to being amazing, haha

Dined near the crew in Port Rexton, Newfoundland on the weekend. Wonder when the episode they're filming will be out. Should check it.

how isolating and stilted

I guess the place will fit. It's very early in tourist season, with a very grey start to "spring". I'm not sure any other restaurants were open yet.

Binged this over the last few days.
- Adam Scott’s face is… something.
- “Does it bother anyone else that they never seem to do any work? I know it's implied but idk”
This probably wouldn’t have bothered me except that Irv was getting his pay docked for dozing on the job.
- I can’t figure out Harmonie Cobel’s motivation. She’s got the shrine but she’s at odds with the Board. Before she realizes Mark is Out, and he’s telling her he’s thinking about quitting, she hugs him and whispers to “get away from those people”. She also seems to be encouraging something between Mark and “Ms Casey”.
- I’m very intrigued by the O&D dept and what they’re actually doing in the back room. Like, the random objects they’re creating and those instructional cards?
- for some reason I thought this was a limited series to I was pulling my hair out at the cliffhanger.

Season 2 not sounding promising so far though. Behind the scenes turmoil apparently and now on indefinite hold due to strike

What was the turmoil? All I find is that production was halted due to the strikes, which is every show basically

Some falling out between the two showrunners.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/severance-season-2-delayed-due-to-showrunner-fighting-report

https://www.gq.com/story/severance-season-2-delayed-behind-the-scenes-drama#

Well it looks they brought in the writer who wrote the prison episodes of Andor, so that seems promising

kinda curious how/why they're spending $20m per episode

those kaypro ii monitors aren’t cheap these days

Alia Shawkat is notorious for her method acting, forcing the production team to create the severing technology for real