Another show has been affected by the WGA strike. According to Deadline, the Apple TV+ series Severance is one of the latest series to have its production in New York suspended due to strike picketing. The filming of season two of the popular show was shut down when IATSE members and Teamsters refused to cross the WGA members’ picket line.
According to Deadline, Severance is the second Apple TV+ series to have its filming disrupted by the writers’ strike. Apple series Loot also had to halt filming in Los Angeles last week. Both shows join Stranger Things, Hacks, Billions, Daredevil: Born Again, and The Venery of Samantha Bird as series that have had productions shut down.
Severance stars Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation, Party Down) as Mark Scout; Britt Lower (Man Seeking Woman, Casual) as Helly; Zach Cherry (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Duncanville) as Dylan; John Turturro (Transformers, The Batman) as Irving; Patricia Arquette (CSI: Cyber, The Act) as Harmony Cobel; Christopher Walken (The Outlaws, The Deer Hunter) as Burt; Tramell Tillman (Dietland, Godfather of Harlem) as Milchick; Dichen Lachman (Jurassic World: Dominion, Animal Kingdom) as Ms. Casey; Jen Tullock (Perry Mason, Spirited) as Devon; Michael Chernus (Dead Ringers, Patriot) as Ricken; and Yul Vazquez (The Outsider, Russian Doll) as Petey.
The actors joining the cast for the second season include Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones, Wednesday); Merritt Wever (Run, Unbelievable); Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development, Search Party); John Noble (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Elementary); Robby Benson (Beauty and the Beast, American Dreams); Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (The Minister, Operation Napoleon); Bob Balaban (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Capote); and Stefano Carannante (Blue Bloods).
Severance follows Mark Scout, who after learning that his wife died in a car accident, agrees to undergo a procedure called severance that surgically divides his memories between his work at Lumon Industries and his personal life where he often hangs around his pregnant sister Devon and her husband Ricken. When a new coworker is introduced to Mark’s department, everything changes at work. The arrival of Helly disrupts the dynamics that had been established by Irving, Dylan, Mark, and Petey who had been working together as a team for multiple years. The hiring of Helly comes after the mysterious disappearance of Petey, as Mark’s superiors Harmony and Milchick refuse to tell the team what happened. Mark will find himself wrapped in a mystery that will make him question his decision to sever his memories, and all the work he does for Lumon.
The show is written by newcomer Dan Erickson, who also is the creator. Ben Stiller (Escape at Dannemora, Zoolander 2) serves as director and executive producer. Mark Friedman (The Forgotten, Wayward Pines), Chris Black (Outcast, Reckless), John Cameron (Legion, Fargo), and Andrew Colville (TURN: Washington’s Spies, Star Trek: Discovery) executive produce alongside Erickson. Nicholas Weinstock (In the Dark, Queenpins), Jackie Cohn (In the Dark, Plus One), and Stiller executive produce through Red Hour Productions.
Due to the WGA strike, fans might experience a delay in the premiere of the upcoming season two. The first season of Severance is available to stream on Apple TV+.