Severance season 2: Everything we know so far about the Apple TV Plus show's return

After two long years, Severance season 2 is finally on the horizon. 

You may remember that production paused back in May 2023, just a few days before the second chapter was set to wrap due to the WGA writers' strike and SAG AFTRA actors' strike. But now, not only has the highly-anticipated second season finally wrapped filming...there's also a confirmed release date and brand new trailer.

We still have quite some time to wait, but we've also got lots of juicy information to tide you over in the meantime. Showrunner Dan Erickson and the show's executive producer Ben Stiller have been dropping a fair few hints about what's coming next in Severance season 2 – and we've rounded them all up in one place, so you don't have to go on a hunt. And that's not to mention everything the stars have been saying after the first season's cliffhanger ending. 

Scroll on for everything we know about the return to Lumon below, including that chaotic new trailer and official release date.

Severance season 2 release date

Apple TV Plus has finally revealed the Severance season 2 release date – and it gives us plenty of time to rewatch season 1 and prepare.

Per the new trailer, which can be viewed below, Severance season 2 starts streaming on January 17, 2025. The 10-episode season will air every Friday through March 21.

Season 1 wrapped in June 2021 following a lengthy eight-month shoot, before premiering in February 2022. Production shut down in early May 2023 amid the writers and actors' strikes, causing a delay. Cameras first started rolling on season 2 in October 2022, and didn't wrap until spring 2024.

Severance season 2 trailer

The first Severance season 2 trailer doesn't give too much away as we see our favorite employees dealing with the fallout of that brutal finale (and we're not sure how they're going to move past the whole Helly R is actually Helena Egan thing). We see Mark running, Helly walking through the building in her gala dress, and people running through the snow. "You should have left," Gwendoline Christie's new character says at the end in the Lumon offices.

Severance season 2 cast

Severance season 1 ended mid-action, so it was always pretty clear that its main cast would be returning. We've had confirmation for a while that Britt Lower will be back as Lumon's newest employee Helly, as she posted a behind-the-scenes snap from set on her Instagram Story in late October, and Adam Scott will reprise his role as Mark.

We're sure to see the likes of Zach Cherry, John Turturro, Christopher Walken, Tramell Tillman, and Patricia Arquette again, too, as we catch up with Dylan, Irving, Burt, Mr. Milchick, and Harmony Cobel respectively. Lastly, when it comes to familiar faces, we can expect to see Michael Chernus, Jen Tullock, and Dichen Lachman show up as Ricken, Mark's sister Devon, and Lumon counselor Ms. Casey – who is actually Mark's supposedly deceased wife Gemma (!) – too.

Now for the newbies... On October 31, 2022, Apple TV Plus announced that Bob Balaban, Merritt Wever, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Robby Benson, Stefano Carannante, Alia Shawkat, Fringe's John Noble, and Game of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie had joined the cast. Unsurprisingly, there's no news as to who each of them are playing yet, but they certainly make for some exciting new hires. 

"Holy shiiiit beyond excited to work with this unbelievable group of actors on season 2 of Severance – we are so lucky to have them," Scott wrote on Instagram at the time, as he shared Deadline's write-up of the news.

Severance season 2 plot

The final episode of Severance season 1 had its fair share of shock moments, as the Innies managed to "switch" their consciousnesses on outside of the office. Helly R was revealed to be Helena Egan, a descendant of Lumon's mysterious founder Kier Eagan, when she's not sat at her desk in Macrodata Refinement, while Mark discovered that his neighbor, Mrs. Selvig, is actually his boss and that his wife Gemma is actually Ms. Casey, Lumon's oddly serene wellness counselor. 

Mark just about managed to tell his sister Devon that information before he lost control of his mind when Milchick tackled Dylan, who was maintaining their 'Overtime' status from the office, while Irving's Innie went blank on the doorstep of his work paramour Burt. Helly, realizing who she really is at a swanky Lumon party, went rogue, too, shouting about how awful it is to undergo the severance procedure and have your existence (and identity) compartmentalized. Basically, Lumon Industries is aware our heroes broke out, and we're sure to see the fallout from that in season 2.

Given their rebellion, it's curious, then, that the behind-the-scenes shot Apple TV Plus shared to commemorate the start of filming sees Mark back at Lumon – eyes shut, as he descends the lift to his windowless basement at work. Mark must be self-aware now, so it's hard to believe he'd be willing to go back to Lumon. Perhaps the sinister organization has the ability to wipe memories, or he's sneaking back in to help Gemma "escape"?

Both Erickson, who worked on the script for the first season for 10 years, and Stiller reminded tight-lipped about season 2 when they took part in a Severance panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. The only thing they teased will be revealed in the new episodes was the significance of the seemingly random baby goats from episode 5, titled 'The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design'.

For more, check out our guides to the best sci-fi movies and the best shows on Apple TV Plus right now.