Severance May Become Apple TV’s First Sci-Fi Franchise
The sci-fi smash hit may become its own cinematic universe.
Severance created a whole new sector of Apple TV+ sci-fi fans. The streamer has always been quietly dominating the genre with shows like Foundation, For All Mankind, and Silo, but Severance had something those shows didn’t: a simple, relatable premise. The thought of a workplace where employees are literally dissociating while on the clock was relatable for anyone on the office job grind, but Severance cemented its place as a TV phenomenon with its intriguing worldbuilding and a big central mystery.
But after Season 1’s massive success, there was an arduous years-long wait for Season 2. Now, there’s no telling how long the upcoming Season 3 will take. Thankfully, there’s now new hope: Severance could become an entire franchise.
We might get a Severance spinoff announcement before Severance Season 3.
In an expansive interview, Severance executive producer and main director Ben Stiller was asked by Variety if he sees potential for Severance to spark more stories. “There are two specific ideas — that I won’t tell you — that we’ve talked about internally as possible spinoff ideas,” he said.
But the Severance team isn’t just limited to spinoffs. Stiller said it would “be great to have a Severance video game,” and star Adam Scott agreed, saying, “I think it lends itself to one.” There’s even more tie-in possibility, with the two discussing merchandise like Lumon-branded keyboards.
Could Ms. Huang’s unceremonious departure from the show actually be a backdoor way to launch a spinoff?
Severance is a relatively small story that takes place in an entirely different world, one that could house separate stories from the MDR gang. However, there does seem to be some possibility for familiar faces to get their own shows. At the end of Season 2, two characters seemed to exit the show for good: Irving, whose Innie was terminated from his position, and Ms. Huang, who is sent from her family home to the Gunnel Eagan Empathy Center. Perhaps these two spinoff ideas follow these two cliffhangers from the original show.
Severance Season 2 left a lot for the main show to explain, but there may not be room for all the loose threads left behind. Perhaps a spinoff following Ms. Huang as she navigates her new home could flesh out the Eagan-controlled culture a bit more, or one following Irving could finally answer what his Outie is up to.
