At Lumon Industries, certain employees are given a brain implant that keeps their work selves separate from their personal selves, with no shared memories between them. The procedure gives Apple TV+'s new show, Severance, its name and puts it in motion.
Mark Scout is a Lumon employee who is chosen to be among the company's permanently severed workers as a means of dealing with the tremendous grief he feels. It is the ultimate way to separate one's feelings from his actual feelings.
It's not just the actual work that is weird. Lumon HQ is a maze of sterile white hallways that lead to various windowless rooms, plus odd touches like a reliance on outdated technology and a hefty side of Office Space-ish. The cult-like figure of Lumon's late founder, who built his salve business into a massive biotech, is also present. Mark doesn't know, and he doesn't care, until the two sides of his mind start to suspect that something very, very bad is going on.
It's a lot to take in at first, but Severance is written and directed by Ben Stiller, who is also one of the executive producers, and gives us an entry point with a new hire. She accepted the job and willingly submitted to the severance procedure, but she is certain she is not cut out for working at Lumon. Petey, Mark's former office bestie, has been brought in to replace him, but his sudden absence at work is upsetting.
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