Severance‘s Showrunner Knows How and When It All Ends

When you deliberation of Severance, you deliberation of Adam Scott. You deliberation of Ben Stiller. You whitethorn adjacent deliberation of John Turturro, Christopher Walken, oregon Patricia Arquette. You astir apt don’t, however, think of Dan Erickson. Even though you should.

Erickson is the creator of the deed Apple TV+ show and 1 of the radical chiefly liable for each twist, turn, mystery, and out-of-left-field oddity that happens astatine Lumon Industries. If you person a question astir what the hellhole is going connected with the show, he’s the idiosyncratic to ask. And, arsenic 1 mightiness expect, Erickson has enjoyed that comparative anonymity. It’s conscionable 1 of galore things helium spoke astir successful a caller speech with io9.

Over video chat, we talked to Erickson astir the intentions of the long-awaited and highly anticipated, 2nd season. He discussed however galore of the mysteries he’s created (things similar what is Lumon up to? Why is Mark’s woman alive? What’s up with the goats, etc?) helium knows the answers to. Plus, helium revealed helium knows however the amusement is going to end, when—and if Apple decides to greenlight a 3rd season, the anticipation is it’ll get overmuch sooner than the 3 years it took betwixt seasons 1 and two.

Read our non-spoiler interrogation with Erickson below, and cheque backmost erstwhile play 2 of Severance premieres connected January 17 for immoderate spoiler talk.

Dan Erickson is the creator of Severance – Apple TV+

This interrogation has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

Germain Lussier, io9: I emotion that the play doesn’t shy distant from anything. It conscionable benignant of jumps close successful and you’re tackling tons of large questions close away. Was that ever going to beryllium the lawsuit oregon was that a absorption to the fans waiting for truthful agelong for play two?

Dan Erickson: It was ever going to beryllium the case. Part of it was truthful overmuch happens astatine the extremity of play one, and it truly upends the presumption quo for everybody, determination was immoderate information of it getting convoluted and confusing and being like, “Okay, who knows what?” So we wanted to benignant of enactment everything retired connected the table. That’s why, connected the outside, the characters beauteous rapidly get into conversations with each different astir like, “Okay, what the hellhole conscionable happened? What was that? What did that mean?” And past connected the inside, it’s the aforesaid thing. In the trailer, you person Dylan (Zach Cherry) consecutive up asking the question “What did you guys spot up there?” That felt narratively similar the close happening to bash and it besides felt existent to the characters. All of these radical are going to beryllium hopeless to fig retired what connected world conscionable happened and what that means for them, truthful we conscionable fto them person those conversations organically.

io9: Clearly with a amusement similar this, you acceptable up immoderate mysteries that you person answers to and immoderate that you don’t. I’m wondering, going into play 2 and beyond, what percent of those bash you person answers to, however overmuch did you person to fig out, and are determination immoderate you’re inactive unsure about?

Erickson: I person a beauteous coagulated thought of the endpoint of the show. I person benignant of a last country that has ever been successful my caput and answers to immoderate of the large questions. I deliberation you benignant of person to cognize those successful bid to cognize the rules of the satellite that you’re writing. But also, I deliberation it’s balanced due to the fact that I similar to beryllium amazed by the amusement too. Sometimes we’ll conscionable a caller quality oregon find a caller determination oregon constituent of the amusement that I americium amazed to find myself successful emotion with and each of a abrupt it’s like, “Well, present that has to beryllium portion of it. We can’t conscionable permission that there. We person to marque that a portion of the bigger story.” And that’s wherever a batch of the amusive comes in. You person to deliberation connected your feet a small spot and fto the amusement astonishment you.

One Helly oregon two? – Apple TV+

io9: I spoke to immoderate of your actors and asked them what beingness has been similar with 3 years disconnected betwixt seasons and if fans speech to them astir it, which they have. But successful this case, you’re the creator but you besides person a small spot of anonymity. You’re not Ben Stiller. You’re not Adam Scott. So has determination ever been an lawsuit wherever radical are discussing the amusement and they don’t cognize that you’re the guy?

Erickson: Yeah, it’s funny. I was astatine a edifice a portion backmost and I was sitting determination virtually connected my laptop moving connected the amusement and determination were immoderate radical sitting adjacent to maine and their canine came up, it’s this truly saccharine dog, came up and enactment its caput successful my lap. I was like, “Oh, tin I favored your dog?” “Yeah, yeah.” So I’m sitting determination conscionable petting their canine and abruptly this this feline is similar “By the way, person you guys seen Severance?” And they’re like, “Yeah,” and he’s similar “Everyone likes it. I can’t get into it. It’s not my thing.” And I’m sitting determination conscionable similar petting and I’m similar “I’m gonna bargain this dog. This canine deserves a due owner. And this man is undeserving.” [Laughs]

io9: You said you person benignant of an thought of wherever the amusement would end, but bash you person a unsmooth thought of however galore seasons it could go? 

Erickson: Yeah, I person an idea. It’s not similar a 100 percent for definite but we’ve talked astir it internally and we’re each beauteous definite that we person a fig that we’re blessed with.

io9: Okay, and if we get a 3rd season—and we’d amended Apple!— tin you accidental for definite that it’ll instrumentality little clip than this one?

Erickson: I surely would similar it to, yeah. And the conversations we person had astir it, that’s been successful the conversation. Because play 2 really took astir the aforesaid magnitude of clip arsenic play one. The difference, of course, is play 1 cipher knew what the amusement was and truthful they weren’t waiting for it. But astatine the aforesaid time, you’re ever looking to benignant of fine-tune the process and instrumentality what works and permission what doesn’t enactment and streamline things. So, my anticipation is that if determination is simply a play three, it’s going to beryllium sooner.

Check backmost aft the play 2 premiere of Severance for immoderate spoiler treatment with Erickson. It debuts connected January 17.

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