The word “severance”, which is used initially for classification, has several meanings in English. It can mean something like severance pay, but also separation or termination. In the case of this series, it stands for a questionable experiment: the company Lumon Industries plants a chip in the heads of its employees that ensures that the memories between work and private life are separated. The whole thing happens voluntarily, at least apparently: anyone who undergoes the procedure confirms their consent in a video statement.
In a way, it’s the surgical absolutization of work-life balance: what happens in the office stays in the office – as soon as the elevator door closes, all thoughts and memories of work are gone. But that also means not knowing who is waiting for you at home during the working day. And not being able to talk about who and what you actually work for over dinner with friends.
Apple Plus announces its new series as a thriller, somewhat surprising given that one of the directors and producers of the series is named Ben Stiller. After all, he became known primarily as a perpetually funny actor in films such as “My Bride, Her Father and Me”, “My Wife, Her Parents-in-Law and Me”, “My Wife, Her Children and Me”. As a director, however, Stiller has been appearing differently for a long time. Last time he turned it drama series Escape at Dannemorawhich was nominated for an Emmy several times.
At least in his working hours, Mark wants to forget the memories of his late wife
In the center of severity stands Mark (Adam Scott), a pale forty-something in an oversized suit, a former history teacher who now heads the company’s “Macrodata Refinement” department. He underwent the Severance procedure, as you learn over the course of the nine episodes, because his wife died in a traffic accident. At least the eight working hours he can be free from his grief and the memories of her. What Mark and his colleagues do every day in the sparsely furnished office is like a caricature of the bullshit jobs described by the philosopher David Graeber: they spend hours staring at 1980s computers and sorting out numbers from a matrix. Nobody really knows what this work is for.
When a former colleague and friend from the company suddenly appears in Mark’s private life, the head of the department has increasing doubts about his employer and his unusual methods. It soon dawns on Mark’s new colleague Helly (Britt Lower) that something is wrong at Lumon. “Am I trapped here?” she asks at one point. “What if I realize that I hate this and want to get out – is that even possible?” Helly keeps trying to get in touch with her outside self. But this is strictly forbidden at Lumon. When she crumples up a piece of paper with the inscription “I don’t want to work here”, puts it in a pen cap and wants to swallow it, Mark suddenly appears behind her and explains to her that there are detectors in the elevators that can even decode writing inside the body. Helly spits out the lid again.
It takes a bit to warm up to the characters in the series. The stories behind the people who work with Mark are only briefly revealed at the end. The majority of the scenes take place in the sterile company building, lots of white corridors, lots of open-plan offices. In general, it looks as if someone has erased the color from the pictures.
Also Patricia Arquette as the icy grinning Lumon boss is wonderful
Anyone who expects social criticism at the beginning will be a bit disappointed from the halfway point at the latest. It’s still exciting. As the series progresses, the enterprise becomes more sinister – and the more surreal the scenery. The endlessly long corridors become a labyrinth, doors lead to nowhere, the feel-good manager, who just brought fresh melons and a music player to the “Five Minutes Music Experience” into the office, turns out to be a disciplinarian and humiliates colleagues in the so-called break Room.
Despite all the horror, a fine sense of humor runs through the series. For example, when the team throws a softball back and forth during an introductory game, or when Mark practices with a colleague how to give a friendly look like a department head. Adam Scott, known from the comedy series Parks and Recreation, plays great. Patricia Arquette is also wonderful in the role of the evil silver-haired Lumon boss. Her grin is so icy that even sitting on the sofa at home you still have respect.
The only drop of bitterness: the ending, which turned out to be a bit too open. It almost seems as if you couldn’t quite get all the complicated storylines together. In any case, there would be enough material for a second season.
severitynine episodes, every Friday, on Apple+.
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