Ben Stiller and Apple’s Eddy Cue Dish on ‘Severance’ Success, Tease Season Finale at SXSW

During a panel at SXSW on Sunday, Ben Stiller shared his initial interactions with Apple when he was pitching the series Severance.

Stiller reminisced, “When we initially presented the show to Apple TV+, I was like, ‘Apple TV+? What is that?’ It was so new, it barely seemed like a reality.”

Despite the vagueness of the situation, “We decided to go for it and pitch the show. It turned out to be a wonderful collaborative experience,” Stiller explained.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s SVP of Services which includes Apple TV+, joined Stiller on stage. Stiller, who serves as both executive producer and director of the acclaimed surreal workplace series, discussed with Cue the panel’s theme of “Moving Culture Through Innovation and Creativity.”

“It has been an incredible journey for both me and Apple, and a tremendous honor to collaborate with you on this project. We couldn’t be more proud,” Cue expressed. He noted with excitement that “audiences simply can’t get enough” of Severance as the show approaches its second season finale later this month.

While Cue enjoys the privilege of binge-watching the entire season, he prefers watching the episodes as they are officially released weekly. He probed Stiller for any teasers about the season finale on March 21, though Stiller’s answers remained elusive.

“Things are unfolding,” Stiller hinted after showing two short clips from the upcoming episode. “I’m not sure what you can take away from those scenes, but … expect some developments. The season’s wrapping up soon, and we hope everyone is excited for what’s to come.”

Adam Scott plays the role of Mark Scout, also known as “Mark S.,” a former history professor now working at Lumon Industries in the Macrodata Refinement (MDR) division. The dual identities of Lumon employees, known as “outies” outside of work and “innies” at Lumon, play a central role. Season 2 also delves into Mark’s efforts to merge his innie and outie identities through an underground surgical process. The tension between these two identities, who should have no memory of one another, along with the enigmatic nature of Lumon’s business, drives the storyline.

“It’s quite ironic,” Stiller commented jokingly, “people mention, ‘Oh, Apple is a huge company, and Lumon is a huge company.’ It feels right that this show is on Apple. There’s something about the aesthetic, the themes that resonate.”

“And, by the way, I’ve never received any directives or notes from Apple on our content… How is Apple doing, by the way? I sometimes worry about you guys,” Stiller added humorously.

“It’s a tough market,” Cue responded, “but we’re holding our own. Like you, we strive to excel and innovate in ways that our audience will love.”

“Good to hear, because sometimes when we go a bit over budget, I get comments like, ‘Come on, guys,’ and then I start to worry about you,” Stiller said, half-jokingly.

“I appreciate your concern,” Cue replied.

“Everything’s financially solid?” Stiller pressed further.

“As long as you keep up the good work, I think we’ll be just fine,” Cue assured.

Severance, conceived by Dan Erikson, also features Britt Lower, John Turturro, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillmann, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette, and Dichen Lachman.