When the second season of “Severance” premiered in January, fans had waited three years for its return.
Creator and showrunner Dan Erickson worried that Season 2 might struggle to match the huge success of the first season.
However, the Apple TV+ workplace thriller quickly regained its popularity.
Now, Erickson is celebrating another major achievement. “Severance” has earned 27 nominations at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards.
From TV comeback to Emmy nods
“Severance” earned 27 Emmy nominations on Tuesday.
That total nearly doubles the 14 nominations from its first season in 2022.
The show received a nomination for outstanding drama series. It also earned two directing nominations for Ben Stiller and Jessica Lee Gagné.
“Severance” will compete for the top drama prize against “Andor”, “The Diplomat”, “The Last of Us”, “Paradise”, “The Pitt”, “Slow Horses” and “The White Lotus”.
The series also picked up nine acting nominations.
Adam Scott received a lead actor nomination. Britt Lower earned a lead actress nomination.
Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman and John Turturro received supporting actor nominations. Patricia Arquette earned a supporting actress nomination.
The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards will take place at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles on September 14.
Erickson also celebrated the nominations on Instagram.
He congratulated everyone who helped create Season 2 and thanked the Television Academy for recognising the show.
“[My] most giddy congratulations to all the nominees, and every brilliant individual who put their time, effort, talent and love into Season 2 of Severance. These incredible 27 NOMINATIONS belong to EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU,” he wrote.
“Thank you to the Television Academy for this crazy and amazing honour. We’ll see you in September!!!”
Workplace dystopia
Set in the fictional town of Kier, “Severance” follows a group of employees at the shadowy biotechnology corporation Lumon Industries who have agreed to undergo a life-altering surgical procedure to split their consciousness into two beings: “innie” and “outie”.
The innie is a severed employee’s identity at Lumon, while the outie is their personal self outside of work. Albeit the same person, neither the innie nor the outie knows what’s going on in each other’s worlds.
At the heart of the show is Mark S., a former history professor who takes a job as a microdata refiner at Lumon to escape his grief — at least from 9 to 5 — following the death of his wife Gemma.
Season 1 introduces viewers to Lumon’s “severance” procedure and its chilling concept of work-life balance, while Season 2 follows Mark and his colleagues as they unravel the secrets behind and beyond the walls of the company’s severed floor.
Season 3 in the works
After Season 2 ended its 10-episode run in late March, Apple TV+ announced that “Severance” is returning for another season.
While details remain under wraps, director and executive producer Stiller assured fans that Season 3 will be as “equally enjoyable” as the first two.
“Making ‘Severance’ has been one of the most creatively exciting experiences I’ve ever been a part of,” the Hollywood star said in a statement issued by the streaming service the same month.
“While I have no memory of this, I’m told making season three will be equally enjoyable, though any recollection of these future events will be forever and irrevocably wiped from my memory as well.”
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