“Severance” was one of the hit shows of 2022. The sci-fi psychological thriller revolves around Lumon Industries, a corporation where its employees agree to have their work memories surgically separated from their personal lives. Mark (Adam Scott) leads a group of office workers who start to question the mysterious goings-on at the corporation.
Created by Dan Erickson, who was born and raised in Olympia, and directed by Ben Stiller, “Severance” was widely praised for its haunting yet beguiling tone, its patient and engrossing narrative, and the way it explored themes of philosophy, free will and existentialism.
“Every day of my life since the show got picked up by Ben and his company has just been surreal,” Erickson says in an interview. When he initially wrote “Severance,” he thought it would only attract a niche audience, as his tastes have always “tended to skew a little stranger.” Instead, “Severance” was named by dozens of publications — including Vulture, The New York Times, Time, The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly — as one of the best shows of 2022.
Erickson believes it struck a chord with viewers because “people everywhere can relate to having a job that dehumanizes them.” Recalling its origins, Erickson says inspiration struck when he was walking into his office job one day and wished that “he could just jump ahead to the end of the day.” While he knew this was a thought most people have had, he became fascinated by the task of turning this relatable idea into a fully fledged narrative. “What I didn’t understand at the time was that that was the secret sauce that made the show so appealing.”
As Erickson expanded his idea for “Severance” into a series, he turned to his family and growing up in Washington for influence. Mark’s sister Devon (Jen Tullock) shares numerous similarities to Erickson’s own sister, while the dynamic Peter (Yul Vazquez) has with Mark is based on his relationship with his brother. Erickson even peppered inside jokes that his family would find funny into the dialogue.
“There’s a lot that comes from them. I also think just the vibe of Washington and the region is in the show. I associate this dry sense of humor, that is definitely not universal to everybody, with the Pacific Northwest. It might not have been intentional, but it certainly made its way into the show.”
With the second season of “Severance,” Erickson intentionally went darker, as he wanted to put his characters through more than they experienced in the first outing. “I’m all about the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ approach,” admits Erickson, referencing the bleaker tone and storylines in the second installment to the original “Star Wars” trilogy. He teases that “Severance” fans can expect to see other sides of the Lumon Industries building where Mark, Dylan (Zach Cherry), Helly (Britt Lower), Milchick (Tramell Tillman) and Ms. Casey (Dichen Lachman) work. “We always knew that the audience was going to expect to see and feel more of what they experienced before. But we wanted to go deeper into the building and show stranger places, which in turn coincides with us going deeper into the narrative and the show itself becoming stranger.”
As he was overseeing the development of the second season with his team of writers, Erickson made sure that the show kept the humor and humanity that he says has helped to make it so popular. “I always saw the show as a deceptively human show. The saving grace of the characters is their camaraderie and the connection that they form. That’s the beating heart of the show inside this cold machine.”
“Severance” has provided Erickson, who was a relative screenwriting novice before making the show, with the chance to work alongside big Hollywood names like Stiller, Scott, John Turturro, Christopher Walken and Patricia Arquette. But while his fellow collaborators have had a huge impact on the show, the conclusion Erickson originally envisioned for it remains the same as the day he pitched it.
“There’s always been an end point to the show in my head,” Erickson says. “That end point hasn’t changed; a lot of the path to it has. When we have deviated from my initial plan, it has always been something that I have been really excited about. One of the writers, or Ben, Adam or another actor, will pitch something and I’m always, like, ‘Holy crap! We have to do that!’ ”
Erickson can’t help but beam with pride when discussing the “Severance” cast and crew he has collaborated with — especially as they’ve made him so “protected, cared for and even lifted up” as the show was developed and brought to life. “Ben Stiller is one of the smartest and hardest-working people I’ve ever encountered professionally. He knows everything about lenses and cameras, and he’s the same with story,” declares Erickson, who smiles at the thought of what they’ve all created together. “To collaborate with industry professionals who I grew up watching, it’s been such a joy.”