The story
At the shadowy biotech firm Lumon Industries, some employees have undergone 'severance', a procedure that splits their memories between work and home. Their office selves know nothing of the outside world, and their everyday selves have no idea what they do all day. When Mark Scout's small department gets a defiant new recruit, Helly, the cracks in Lumon's tightly controlled world start to show.
Why it matters
Severance became the most-watched series in Apple TV's history in 2025 and the most-nominated show at that year's Emmys, where Britt Lower and Tramell Tillman won acting awards. Apple then bought the rights outright from Fifth Season – a measure of how central this strange, slow-burning original became to the service.
Notable facts
- Ben Stiller executive produces and directs much of the series; he and Dan Erickson began developing it in 2015. (source)
- In 2025 it became the most-watched series in the history of Apple TV (then Apple TV+). (source)
- Apple acquired the rights from producer Fifth Season in February 2026 for an estimated $70 million. (source)
- Its main title sequences won the Emmy for Outstanding Title Design in 2022 and 2025. (source)