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- Apple TV+
- Feb 18, 2022
- Apple TV+
- Feb 18, 2022
Summary Mark Scout (Adam Scott) is one of several employees at Lumon Corporation who undergo a procedure which separates their work and home memories so they can only recall the ones related to where they are in this sci-fi thriller from Ben Stiller and created by Dan Erickson.
Created By: Dan Erickson
- Apple TV+
- Feb 18, 2022
- Apple TV+
- Feb 18, 2022
Summary Mark Scout (Adam Scott) is one of several employees at Lumon Corporation who undergo a procedure which separates their work and home memories so they can only recall the ones related to where they are in this sci-fi thriller from Ben Stiller and created by Dan Erickson.
Created By: Dan Erickson
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Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 36 Critic Reviews
83
94% Positive
34 Reviews
34 Reviews
6% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 36 Critic Reviews
83
94% Positive
34 Reviews
34 Reviews
6% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
With an exceptional cast (rounded out by Patricia Arquette, John Turturro and Christopher Walken), this is an original, weird, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted story that asks just how much of ourselves we should give over to our jobs.
With smart performances, an intriguing script, and buckets of style from Ben Stiller in pure thriller mode, it easily climbs up the list of Apple TV+’s best shows.
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 116 User Ratings
8.6
89% Positive
103 Ratings
103 Ratings
8% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
3% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Universal Acclaim
Based on 116 User Ratings
8.6
89% Positive
103 Ratings
103 Ratings
8% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
3% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
Playful and mordantly funny, “Severance” is like a Charlie Kaufman-designed nightmare, from the midcentury-menacing set to the way it sketches the innies’ hermetic lives. ... The nine-episode season suffers from streaming slump in the middle, but it hooks you early and accelerates late.
Severance is classic slow-burn TV, lulling you with its hypnotic weirdness before piling on the twists. By the end, I was on the edge of my seat begging for a second season. [14 - 27 Feb 2022, p.7]
It’s wacky, unsettling, and remarkably assured.
There’s a dark humor, absurdist vibe that, alongside the mysteries (What are the workers doing at Lumon? Why does Mark’s boss live next door to him?), makes “Severance” appealing. But some of that interest gets undone by over-long episodes and a thudding pace.
What exactly are we watching? As a critique of office life, it’s empty, and somewhat patronizing. ... There is certainly a strain of comedy being worked here, along with some seemingly random, one might say Buñuelian weirdnesses, but it is not often funny; at times, it feels meant as satire, but of what? ... The season finale is genuinely exciting and suspenseful, but, really, even as an advocate of slow television, we might have got there in half the time with twice the effect.
Season 1 could have been great, but it’s not rewarding. The pacing is a bit too slow but that’s not the issue. The issue is the fact that season 1 ended up only being a premise for season 2.
They could have cut at least 3 episodes and the content of episode 9 should have been around episode 6. Then there would be 3 more episodes to close the season. This would have been great.
Instead, they decided to stretch the sauce as much as possible to do 2 seasons. It’s okay to leave some story arc open for the next season but a season should always be its own entity but season 1 is basically just a mid-season that drags for 9 episodes.
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SEASON 1
admirable
[ ad-mer-uh-buhl ]
adjective
worthy of admiration; inspiring approval, reverence, or affection.
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SEASON 1
Good acting, excellent production design, great shots do not compensate for the sense of boredom. It's not "slow burn", this show is simply boring and nothing encourages you to continue watching... The material for three -four max - episodes was stretched to nine. I gave up and fell asleep.
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SEASON 1
