Severance season 2 is on hold amidst the ongoing Writer’s Guild of America strikes, which have seen production for the next season of the hit sci-fi show temporarily shut down (via Deadline).
Starring Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Zach Cherry and Christopher Walken, the dystopian depiction of work-life balance was an immediate hit on Apple TV Plus, helping to establish the streaming service as a place for thoughtful, well-made sci-fi – alongside most of the best Apple TV shows such as Foundation or the newly-released Silo.
It joins a growing list of productions that have shut down during the WGA strikes, which are now in their second week, as screenwriters fight for better residual payments from streaming services, and restrictions on the use of generative 'AI' in writer’s rooms.
As the strikes ramp up, everything from Stranger Things season 5 to the set of Billions has been disrupted, delaying Hollywood’s production pipeline for a number of big-name shows. Amazon's Rings of Power season 2, Netflix's Big Mouth, and Abbot Elementary have all been impacted too – here's a list of everything that's been impacted by the writers' strike so far, that we know.
What happens now?
Severance is certainly an apt TV show to have been put on pause during the strikes. It follows the employees of a large corporation, Lumon Industries, that has little regard for the mental or physical well being of its staff, as the cast of characters attempt to rebel against the arbitrary restrictions they’ve been put under and gain autonomy over their own lives.
It’s not yet clear exactly how this will affect Severance season 2’s schedule and eventual release date (still TBC), partly because we don't know how long the strike will last – but it'll surely mean a later release than originally planned. Filming was initially slated to end in May, so the disruption looks set to push post-production and distribution back a little while, depending on how long the set remains closed.
The first season ended on a breathtaking cliffhanger – and the only teaser for season 2 we’ve seen since was a brief clip of Helly R (played by Britt Lower) getting onto the subway, during Apple’s iPhone 14 event last year.
We’re loathe to wait for the second season any longer than we have to, but as a show about collective action in the workplace, Severance is a perfect example of why the strikes are happening in the first place.
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