Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre : Sci-fi/Dystopian
Year : 2022
Season: 1, Episodes: 9
Director : Ben Stiller
Cast : Adam Scott, John Turturro, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman
Kid rating : PG
Ever brought work home? And wished you didn’t have to? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a clean break once you left the office, with nary a thought of work when you were at home – and vice versa! Well, Severance takes that concept and runs with it.
In Severance’s dystopian world, one can choose to be “severed”, severed from all work memories when you step out of the office, and severed from all personal ones when you step back in. You essentially then have an “outie” who goes out into the world and forms relationships, and an “innie” who slogs in the office and has no memories of the outie’s life, to the point where they would not recognize family if they saw them.
Our hero Mark (Adam Scott) has chosen to be severed after the death of his wife, unable to bear the pain. When he’s at work he does not have any memory of her. And you’d think that that would let Mark function, but there’s more to it than that. Isn’t there always?
“Outie” Mark goes into the office everyday, and as he is taking the elevator to the “severed floor” below, he becomes “Innie” Mark. “Innie” Mark hasn’t actually ever left the office, and the only people he knows are his workmates, who are also “severed”. They do some very odd “macro-data refinement”, get rewarded with creepy “waffle parties” and “dance experiences”, and then leave every evening to transform into their “Outies” on the elevator upwards. The whole office setup, and the people in the office filled me with unease, although rule follower Mark can’t see it, until a co-worker comes to meet his “Outie” self.
Severance is an amazing, atmospheric, astoundingly engrossing series. The writing is stupendous. I’m in awe of the creators and their imagination. Director Ben Stiller is a genius. The entire concept, and it’s setting, each scene and each dialog is beautifully crafted, at the right place and at the right time. No one could have done it better!
The cast couldn’t get any more perfect. Adam Scott is spot-on as Mark, a by-the-book introvert who toes the line Lumon Industries lays down. Everyone else is fantastic too – John Turturro, Trammel Tillman, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Walken are just the right amount of weird.
Yes, I use a lot of superlatives in this review, but I stand by all of them. I love sci-fi, and I have a lot of favorites, but Severance is, without a doubt, my most favorite.
Season 1 ended on a cliffhanger and I cannot wait for Season 2!
