One of the biggest TV shows of the year
was conceived while its screenwriter, working an uninspiring corporate job,
wished that there was some way for his body to complete a workday without his
mind being present to experience it. That idea, a procedure that splits a
person's brain into their in- and out-of-office selves, is the basis of Severance.
After his initial thought, screenwriter Dan Erickson realized that there germ
of a story in his wish and began to flesh out his idea, wondering how that type
of technology could be be abused and what it would mean for the person who
experienced the procedure.
The Severance script was picked up by Apple TV and
Erickson combined forces with executive producer Ben Stiller, production
designer Jeremy Hindle, and the rest of the creative team. Erickson describes
how combining forces with them changed and improved the show's final form.
Stiller's influence brought the show a more "grounded,"
"human-centered" feel, which is an essential counterpart to its
intrigue-filled plot. One of the show's great strengths is that amid a psyc
hological thriller show, each character is flushed out and their inner worlds
intimately explored, which Erickson credits partially to his collaboration with
Stiller.
Erickson's experience of feeling stuck and stagnant at his office job and channeling those feelings into a life-changing creative product is mirrored in the story of Nick Cave. Cave writes that his album Ghosteen was heavily influenced by his grief after the death of his son. His life was "infused" with loss and he channeled his reality into a groundbreaking creative project. Similarly, Dan Erickson channeled his sense of desperation to separate himself from his work into a truly amazing series.
It’s interesting how Severance stems from such a relatable feeling—wanting to disconnect from the monotony of work. Dan Erickson’s ability to turn that everyday frustration into a complex, thought-provoking series says a lot about the creative process. The collaboration with Ben Stiller clearly helped bring a more grounded and emotional layer to the show, which balances out its eerie tone. It’s also a reminder of how some of the most compelling stories come from deeply personal experiences, much like Nick Cave’s Ghosteen. Both examples show how discomfort or grief can fuel meaningful art.
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