The Future of ‘Severance’ Is Both Secured And Frustratingly Distant
- - The Future of ‘Severance’ Is Both Secured And Frustratingly Distant
Keegan KellyFebruary 15, 2026 at 6:00 AM
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Apple has bought into the hit AppleTV+ sci-fi thriller-comedy series Severance as a producer. Wouldn’t it be nice if it finally started making new seasons as often as it pushes out new iPhones?
Some fans of the Adam Scott-starred series may not know that, despite the fact that Severance Season Two was the most-watched AppleTV+ series of all time, Severance wasn’t actually an original product of Apple Studios. Up until now, the making of Severance has been a collaborative effort between production companies Red Hour Productions, Fifth Season, Westward and Animals & People, but, at long last, the absurdist mystery show about the employees of a secretive sci-fi megacorporation will switch from outtie to innie.
With the new deal, which saw Apple pony up $70 million to produce Severance through Apple Studios, the company has also officially secured the show’s series order through four total seasons, and Deadline even hinted that more shows set in the Severance universe could be coming.
Meanwhile, production on Severance Season Three isn't scheduled to start until this summer, well over a year after the conclusion of Season Two. At this rate, by the time Season Four rolls around, Mark S., Dylan G., Helly R. and the rest of the Severance squad will be retirement-age, and Dylan's kids will have to go to work at Macrodata Refinement.
When Severance first hit AppleTV+, all the way back in the ancient times of 2022, it scratched the streaming public's itch for a well-shot, well-acted, delightfully weird mystery box show long left vacant by the fizzling out of HBO's Westworld. Then, Season One concluded – then there was an writers' strike, then an actors' strike, then ballooning production costs and timelines that were exacerbated by the perfectionist approach of Severance creator Dan Erickson and regular director Ben Stiller.
Season Two wouldn't premiere until January, 2025, nearly three years after the launch of Season One. According to Deadline, the original producers of Severance operated at a loss through the first two seasons, due to all the costs incurred by the lengthy production schedule and the meticulous approaches of the show's makers.
With Apple now bankrolling the venture – and Stiller taking a backseat from directing in Season Three – Severance should, theoretically, run a tighter ship for the second half of its run. But by the time Season Three comes out, likely in 2027, will we even still care about these characters, or even remember what happened to them in the heart-pounding Season Two finale?
It's a problem that isn't unique to Severance, but this show is surely the worst offender: Gruelingly long breaks in between seasons completely kill the momentum of a series that should, by all accounts, be “Peak TV,” something that unites the streaming world in wonder. But for a show like Severance, which relies so heavily on mystery and tension, these straining offseasons make it hard for us to stay engaged with the show, let alone with its potential spinoffs.
Apple clearly sees Severance as the closest thing it'll get to HBO's Game of Thrones. But, if this trend of delays, perfectionism and feet-dragging continues, it'll just be House of the Dragon.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
