Imagine you’re working in an office, dressed in a suit and tie or a blouse and skirt, seated at a cubicle, staring at numbers on an outdated computer screen, selecting the ones that are “scary”, and moving them to a trash bin. You don’t know why you’re doing this. You have three other coworkers, a boss, and the boss’s boss. These are the only people you know. After eight hours of working, you get on an elevator, and the doors close. When they open, you’re back at the office. The job is your entire existence. Pretty rough.

The premise of Severance

Severance, written by Dan Erickson, has powerful elements of black comedy, dystopian, mystery, psychological drama, psychological thriller, and science fiction.

In the show, people who work for the Severance Department in a company called Lumon agree to a brain implantation. When they ride the work elevator, the implantation kicks in, erasing their out-of-work memories. They only know and experience the eight-hour workday and are called “innies.” When they ride the elevator at the end of the workday, the implantation erases any memories of their job and they’re now known as “outies.”

This raises many questions. Why would someone do this? Since innies only live in an office, not experiencing love, families, even a summer day, is this ethical? Sure, they’ve agreed to it, but did they know what they were getting into? Why is it necessary to keep what they do so separate from the outside world? What the heck are they doing, anyway? And what’s up with the goats?

Slow beginning. But hang in there!

The setting for much of the show is stark: white walls, green carpet, one large central cubicle with four desks, and a maze of hallways. Definitely not a dynamic setting, at least at first. Also, there are a lot of questions without answers. Because of this, many people haven’t been able to get into the show. But it’s worth hanging in there. The writing, the directing, the acting, the music, the sets, the costumes, everything is so fantastic.

Incredible writing

As a writer, I’m in awe of this show. When I started my first manuscript fifteen years ago, instructors told me that every word in my book should serve a purpose. That was daunting—my manuscript had 75,000 words. The Severance script is an example of every word, every detail having meaning. Everything serves a purpose. Not surprisingly, the show has spawned many fan podcasts and YouTube videos with theories about these details.

Additionally, each character has depth and a distinct character arc. The same actor portrays both the innie and outie, but they do it so expertly and the writing, including dialogue, is so good that the innie and outie seem like completely different people.

The Official Severance Podcast

Hosted by director Ben Stiller and lead actor Adam Scott, the podcast airs each week immediately following the show. But don’t listen to it until you’ve seen the corresponding TV episode first.

Every podcast episode starts with an interview. There are appearances by the creator Dan Erickson, producer Jackie Cohn, stars Zach Cherry (”Dylan“), John Turturro (”Irving“), and Britt Lower (”Helly“), and other cast members, editor Geoff Richman, composer Theodore Shapiro, and celebrity superfans Jon Stewart, Kristen Bell, and Dax Shepard. The season 1 episode 7 podcast with Bell and Shepard is hysterical.

The podcasts delve into the show’s creation. We hear about the story idea, the actor’s auditions, the lore of the Lumon building, the cameras and equipment used to get tricky shots, the composition of the theme and the selection of other songs, the costumes, the lighting, and so much more.

And they give you Lumon’s number to call in with questions. So great!

How Severance has affected my writing

This show couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I’m currently revising The Runner – The Devil Particle Series Book Three. At this point in the series, evil has been extracted from everyone and has been implanted in a human vessel. I need to know how the absence of evil has changed people and how these changes affect their worldview.

Likewise, in Severance, the writer Dan Erickson has had to determine what innies and outies know and, when innies experience the outer world, how does that affect them? For instance, (minor spoiler alert), when innie Mark, Adam Scott’s character, is outside for the first time, he should be in awe of nature. But there’s a lot going on with Mark, so Dan and Ben Stiller decided adding Mark’s awe was one thing too many. They save that for a later episode. Similarly, I have to decide when to address the nuances of complete goodness and when I can just let them go.

And today, while listening to the podcast, I realized that one of my characters has the same arc as a Severance character (I’m not going to tell you which one, that would be a big spoiler). I now know I need to reveal that arc differently than I had planned. It was mind-blowing.

I can’t recommend Severance and the Official Severance Podcast enough, especially if you’re a writer—you’ll learn so much. Already a fan? I’d love to hear your take on this award-winning show!