Stay tuned! Apple TV sci-fi thriller 'Severance' to return with second season soon

After its premiere in February, the Apple TV sci-fi thriller "Severance" will soon return with a second season. We have seen in Dan Erickson's world how a company called "Lumon" separates the memories of its staff between their work life and home, thus eliminating the need to reduce the 45-hour work week.

The use of Apple's font in Severance's title sequence simply serves to highlight the show's objectives. Severance's deep interest in art is already apparent in the series' artistically-inspired sets.

The introductory scene of the series shows Helly (portrayed by Britt Lower), who wakes up on a conference table without a memory of her recent past. The artwork shown in this scene is quite interesting, as the conference room has mid-century furnishings inspired by the work of Eero Saarinen, a renowned architect. The fluorescent lighting and negative space nicely portray Hopper's lonely city. The references by production designer Jeremy Hindle have a "blink-and-miss" appearance.


The art history of Lumon pays tribute to Caspar David Friedrich and Caravaggio. The paintings and references to them are present in the peripheries of our cultural collective. The visual centralisation of Kier, Lumon's founder, instils faith in a greater focus among the employees. The employees, divided into two departments — Macro Data Refinement (MDR) and Optics and Design (O & D), share a common belief that the other department employees are dangerous. This rumour is kept alive through two versions of the same painting. The mysterious pieces evoke horror in the same fashion as the black paintings of Francisco Goya. It is followed as Lumon believes separating the workforce will create fewer chances of revolt.

The impeccable attention to detail in "Severance" shows a world, which is not forgotten soon, with the help of subliminal references to our subconscious. We hope that this commitment to building a visual world continues with the arrival of the second season of "Severance."