'Severance' kicks off Season 2 with new cast members Gwendoline Christie, Alia Shawkat & more

Lumon Industries just onboarded some new employees. As production on Season 2 of Severance gets underway this week, Apple TV+ has announced a slew of fresh cast joining the Emmy Award-winning sci-fi series. The eight newcomers are Gwendoline Christie (The Sandman), Bob Balaban (The French Dispatch), Robby Benson (Beauty and The Beast), Stefano Carannante (Mirabilia), John Noble (Fringe), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (The Tourist), Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development), and Merritt Wever (Godless).

The existing ensemble of Adam Scott (Mark), John Turturro (Irving), Britt Lower (Helly), Zach Cherry (Dylan), Dichen Lachman (Ms. Casey), Jen Tullock (Devon), Tramell Tillman (Milchik), Michael Chernus (Ricken), Christopher Walken (Burt), and Patricia Arquette (Harmony Cobel) are all back to reprise their characters from the first season, which overtook the pop culture conversation when it premiered in early 2022. Apple renewed the project for a sophomore outing a little less than three months after its streaming debut.

“We are thrilled and delighted to be back on set for the exciting second chapter of Severance,” the show's director and executive producer Ben Stiller said in a statement. “Though we don't know how long we've been gone or who we are outside, we are told people enjoy the show and we couldn't be happier. Praise Kier!”

Check out a first look image below:

Severance Season 2 Photo: Apple TV+

Not even Ben Stiller knows 'Severance's viewership, which is apparently hidden on Apple's severed floor

Written and created by Dan Erickson, the show follows a group of corporate employees who undergo a highly experimental procedure (the titular "Severance") to mentally separate their work lives from their home lives. Erickson serves as an executive producer alongside Stiller, Scott, Arquette, Nicky Weinstock, Jackie Cohn, Mark Friedman, and Richie Schwartz.

Appearing at San Diego Comic-Con over the summer, Erickson alluded to a six-season plan for the hit show, which nabbed 14 Emmy nods and took home a pair of statues for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series and Outstanding Main Title Design.

"I think it’s a big enough world," he said during the panel attended by SYFY WIRE. "And part of the reason that I initially wanted to do this as a series, as opposed to a movie or something, was just the question of, how would the world change if this technology existed? The first question we obviously get into is how it would affect work and office culture, and that’s what we’re exploring here, but it opens up so many questions, and it’s such an interesting, slightly tweaked version of our reality that it was something that I was like, 'You could easily spend six seasons just exploring this one question.' So, I think there’s definitely potential for a good amount of storytelling."

All nine episodes of Severance Season 1 are now available to stream on Apple TV+.

Looking for more smart sci-fi? Check out SYFY's Resident Alien and modern classic Battlestar Galactica streaming on Peacock.

Watch Resident Alien