Apple TV is one of the younger streaming services, but it’s found a niche with big-budget sci-fi like For All Mankind, Foundation, Silo, and its most recent hit, Pluribus. If there’s an innovative new sci-fi series out there, odds are good that it’s an Apple show.
Severance, Ben Stiller and Dan Erickson’s workplace mystery, is the most popular show in Apple’s sci-fi stable, and it’s not letting go anytime soon. Not only will it now be made in-house, but the series will keep going for a while.
According to Deadline, Apple TV has officially purchased the rights to Severance from production company Fifth Season. When Apple TV launched, most of its shows were licensed from production companies, so technically, Apple was just distributing shows made by other companies. Now, however, Apple is bolstering its in-house production company, and it’s starting to buy up the rights to all its hits (the rights to Silo, for example, were purchased from AMC).
Miss Huang left for her next position in the Season 2 finale. Could we see her in a spinoff?
The announcement of the acquisition came with a big update: Severance has been renewed for Season 4, even though we’ve only seen two seasons so far. The report also explains that Season 5 could be possible if the showrunners deem it necessary, although nothing is official yet. Notably, however, they are open to expanding the world of Severance in other ways, including “prequels, spinoffs, or foreign versions.”
That opens up a wide range of possibilities. Could we follow the young Ms. Huang on her next assignment? A prequel about the life of Kier Eagan? A glimpse at Lumon’s global holdings? Severance’s complicated, breadcrumbed mystery would require any spinoffs to be carefully crafted, but they would help ease the years-long waits for new seasons.
As shows like Lost have proven, a “mystery box” story can flounder if it doesn’t have an endpoint in mind. By renewing Severance early, the writers’ room can hopefully plan ahead without worrying about being cut short, and start preparing for the inevitable finale. But the world of Severance is full of potential, so even if Mark and Helly’s story is coming to an end, there are opportunities for more. Fans might be able to live as innies in this universe for years.
