The Severance Podcast is like a dance party with your work friends

Among the many fans of Severance, creators Ben Stiller and Adam Scott are some of the biggest. And every ounce of their fandom is on display in the show’s newly released companion podcast.

Adam Scott in Severance. Picture: Apple+TV

In mid-January, a handful of glass cubes popped up in the middle of the Vanderbilt Hall of New York City’s ornate Grand Central Station.

Inside, people in neat business attire tapped away at keyboards and quietly discussed the tomes of data that appeared on their screens.

Outside, Hollywood legend Ben Stiller snapped photos like a proud dad.

Think inside the box.#Severance Season 2 — Premieres Friday on Apple TV+ pic.twitter.com/5hdSFMy7hv

— Apple TV (@AppleTV) January 16, 2025

In a way, the people inside the cubes were his babies: the superstar cast of the smash-hit Apple TV+ series Severance – Adam Scott, Patricia ­Arquette, Tramell Tillman – going about their work in the series’ shadowy (but, mercifully, fictional) Macrodata Refinement Department.

This genius bit of performance art was, of course, a publicity stunt for the premiere of the show’s long-awaited second season, which comes almost three years after the first aired to rave reviews.

The cast of Severance. Picture: Apple+TV

Severance follows employees of a secretive corporation called Lumon Industries, which has pioneered a controversial practice of severing its staff’s work consciousness from the outside world – for totally above-board and not creepy reasons, I’m sure!

Stiller works behind the camera as director while Scott portrays protagonist Mark. Together, they serve as co-executive producers.

And though the wait for a sophomore season has been long, the rollout has been far from short on promotional activity – hence, the Grand Central cube stunt.

Stiller and Scott also helm the ­official Severance companion podcast, which dropped an episode a day in the run-up to the season two premiere on January 17.

“While we have no memory of what happened during (the time they were producing Severance), we thought we should make a companion podcast for all the Innies who will have no recollection of watching, in an attempt to reintegrate them with their memory of the show,” the series description reads.

(“Innies” is the name given in the Lumon employee consciousness that exists only inside the walls of its gargantuan campus. I’ll admit I was grateful for the in-depth recaps when I sat down to begin the new season.)

Like one big re-watch party, the pair revisit the series, recapping episodes in chronological order, often with assistance from their colleagues – such as Severance creator Dan Erickson – and co-stars.

The cast of Severance. Picture: Apple+TV

Among the many fans of this show, these guys are some of the biggest.

They listen to bootleg recap podcasts and speak on fan-made edits of key moments in the show with apparent admiration.

With Stiller a proud dad through and through, it becomes something of a recurring joke that every scene is his favourite scene, and every episode is his favourite episode.

Ben Stiller directs Severance. Picture: Apple+TV

Though the conversation can get deep into the weeds – which can really test your memory if you’re not rewatching the show at the same time you’re listening to the companion podcast – it’s fun to hear some of the planet’s sharpest comedy minds reflect on a project of which they’re ­obviously and deservedly proud.

The cherry on top are the Easter eggs and insider info revealed in the podcast – the kind of stuff that could come only from people who’ve been in it from the jump.

Kristen Amiet is producer of The Australian’s daily news podcast The Front. The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott is available wherever you listen to podcasts. Season 2 of Severance is out now on Apple TV+.