Ben Stiller Teases Apple TV’s ‘Severance’ Season 3 Release

The Apple TV series Severance ended its second season in March, and fans are already asking when season three will arrive. The season concluded with a tense cliffhanger that left viewers eagerly waiting for answers. They may not have to wait as long as before. After a long gap between the first two seasons, Ben Stiller offered a new update suggesting that the show’s return could come sooner than expected.

While appearing on The Tonight Show, Stiller was asked about the status of Severance season three, several months after the finale aired. “It’s coming,” he said, adding that new episodes will arrive “soon-ish.” It was not an exact release date, but it marked progress after the three-year break between seasons one and two. Stiller commented that the series takes time to produce, noting the challenge of balancing the fans’ enthusiasm with the show’s careful development process.

“We have our own process. It’s tough because people do love the show. People love the show and then they’re always like, ‘When is the next season? When is the next season?’ And it’s always, ‘We’re working on it.’ But we’ve only done 19 episodes over five and a half years on the show. I think Young Sheldon’s done 600 episodes in that time,” Stiller said.

The long pause between the first and second seasons was largely due to the Hollywood labor strikes in 2023 involving the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Those strikes halted production and delayed writing for months. Still, the team behind the series made progress once the strikes ended. They organized a writers’ room before the second season wrapped, aiming to prevent future production delays. Filming for season three is expected to begin by spring of next year.

Severance has been a consistent success for Apple TV, drawing strong reviews and viewership. The series holds an overall 95 percent score from critics and an 80 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The second season premiere became the most-watched launch on the platform so far. Created by Dan Erickson and produced by a large creative team, the show’s distinct concept and visual style have made it a major part of Apple’s original lineup.

Although Stiller has been both an executive producer and leading director for the show, he confirmed that he will not direct any episodes in the upcoming season. He remains involved as a producer while focusing on other projects that would overlap with filming. Stiller said he still believes the new season will benefit from the creative team now guiding the series.

“These things take time to come together, and the older you get, the more you realize that you only have so much time. It’s been full-time the last eight months working on season three, and I’m not going anywhere. We have incredible directors and a team that creates the show. I love directing it and look forward to at some point again for sure. I feel like season three is going to be the best yet as we continue to evolve,” Stiller said.

So far, Stiller has directed 11 of the show’s 19 episodes, including the tense season two finale “Cold Harbor.” The next season will likely pick up after the explosive conclusion, where Innie Mark (Adam Scott) escaped with Helly (Britt Lower) after choosing to lock his Outie’s wife Gemma (Dichen Lachman) out of Lumon. The finale raised questions that viewers will want answered when Severance returns for season three.

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