Severance returned for a second season this January after a three year sabbatical. Apple TV+ went all out to market the long-awaited second season of the sci-fi drama, even enlisting Apple CEO Tim Cook to star in a high-profile promo, according to Deadline. 

The streamer is famous for keeping viewership data private, but disclosed information on the series’s success. Apple + revealed that the show has become the platform’s most watched series , breaking the previous record held by comedy Ted Lasso.

For the week of January 13, Severance secured the fourth position on Nielsen’s Top 10 Originals chart, reflecting its strong debut. The series also correlated with a +126 percent increase in subscribers. The show’s total U.S. viewership across all episodes reached an impressive 589 million minutes, with 28% of that time dedicated to the Season 2 premiere, reported by Deadline. With the season still unfolding, these numbers are anticipated to rise .

“We have long admired Ben’s extraordinary gift for original and immersive storytelling, and with he and Dan at the helm, Severance has proven to be an extraordinary success and a cultural phenomenon,” said Matt Cherniss, head of programming for Apple TV+, reported Deadline. “The series has become an obsession for audiences all over the world and we can’t wait for people to continue to experience all the masterful twists and turns as the rest of the season unfolds.”

The series stars Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation, Step Brothers) as Mark Scout, worker at the fictional Lumon Industries who consents to a controversial “severance” procedure that splits his personal memories from his professional ones, creating two distinct versions of himself.

The season two cast also features Patricia Arquette (True Romance, Medium), John Turturro (The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou), Britt Lower (Man Seeking Woman, Holly Slept Over), Zach Cherry (Fallout, Succession), Tramell Tillman (Sweethearts, The Godfather of Harlem) Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction, King of New York) Dichen Lachman (Altered Carbon, Dollhouse), Jen Tullock (Before You Know It, 6 Balloons) and quite a few other big-names in the industry.