For the first time in years, the euphoria of a new Severance episode has been replaced with the dread of the void. The sci-fi thriller’s long-awaited second season just ended with the mother of all cliffhangers — and however good its finale might have been in the grand scheme, it could be a long time before we can return to Lumon’s severed floor for the answers we need.
But not too long — Apple TV+ has officially renewed Severance for Season 3. And with executive producer and director Ben Stiller promising that the break between this season and the next won’t be an excruciating three-year wait, things are looking brighter at Lumon than ever. Here’s everything we know about the future of Severance.
Mark S.’s controversial choice could haunt us for years.
Is Severance renewed for Season 3?
Yes! Severance has gotten an official renewal for Season 3 from Apple TV+. Apple made the official announcement today, alongside creator Dan Erickson and director-producer Ben Stiller.
“Making Severance has been one of the most creatively exciting experiences I’ve ever been a part of,” said executive producer and director Ben Stiller in the press release announcing the renewal. “While I have no memory of this, I’m told making season three will be equally enjoyable, though any recollection of these future events will be forever and irrevocably wiped from my memory as well.”
Added star and executive producer Adam Scott, “I couldn’t be more excited to get back to work with Ben, Dan, the incredible cast & crew, Apple and the whole ‘Severance’ team. Oh hey also - not a huge deal - but if you see my innie, please don’t mention any of this to him. Thanks.”
"The idea of getting to make more Severance with the greatest cast and crew on Earth is more thrilling to me than all the world's finger traps combined,” said creator, writer and executive producer Dan Erickson. “I can't wait to continue spreading woe, frolic, dread and malice with these truly incredible people.”
In a recent interview with GQ, Erickson confirmed that a writers’ room is already up and running. For all the mystery surrounding a renewal, Erickson admitted to feeling “very, very good” about development this go round, especially now that a road map has been laid out.
Where does Helly fit into Season 3?
What could Severance Season 3 be about?
Spoilers ahead for the Severance Season 2 finale.
While there are mysteries in Season 2 that not even Erickson or Stiller have the answers to yet, the path for Season 3 is pretty clear. Mark (Adam Scott) succeeded in freeing his wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman) from the lab below Lumon’s severed floor, but his efforts only opened a bigger can of worms for future episodes to unpack. It turns out that “Cold Harbor,” the file that Mark has been toiling away at during his 9 to 5, is connected the the multiple severed personalities in Gemma’s mind. Lumon has been using him to refine her macrodata; to what end, we still don’t really know. Before the Season 2 finale can give us clear answers, Mark makes a bewildering choice that resets the balance of power.
Throughout this season of Severance, a battle’s been brewing between Mark’s work-self (innie) and his original consciousness (outie). While outie-Mark worked out a way to rescue Gemma, inne-Mark nurtured a sweet workplace romance with Helly (Britt Lower). His two lives come to a head in the finale, when outie and innie are finally able to speak face-to-face... kinda. Outie-Mark tries to get his innie on Team Free Gemma and Destroy Lumon — but innie-Mark wisely points out that destroying Lumon would mean the destruction of all innies. No one really knows how to extract the innies from Lumon yet, so Mark ultimately chooses to stay on the severed floor with Helly, abandoning Gemma entirely.
Vengeance may be swift from Mr. Milchick.
Beyond innie-Mark’s betrayal, Severance still has plenty of mysteries to answer. Why did Lumon choose Gemma to become their guinea pig, and how does macrodata refinement help perfect the science of severance? How long was Lumon watching Gemma and Mark? Why was Drummond (Ólafur Ólafsson) making a sacrifice with that little lamb? Where did Burt (Christopher Walken) send Irving (John Turturro) at the end of Episode 9? And what are Mark and Helly going to do about their manager, Mr. Milchick (Tramell Tillman), who’s stuck on the severed floor with them? Stiller and Erickson are confident that the answers will come soon — but until Apple makes Season 3 official, the future is a total mystery.
