SeveranceSeason 2: All About the Sci-Fi Thriller Starring Adam Scott and Patricia Arquette

Mar. 15, 2025

Parks and Recreation’sAdam Scottstars as Mark Scout, a Lumon worker who agrees to severance as a way to cope with the death of his wife. After the mysterious disappearance of his best friend and former Lumon employee Petey, he teams up with new hire Helly (Britt Lower) and other coworkers Dylan (Zach Cherry) and Irving (John Turturro) to uncover the company’s web of conspiracies.

​​“It’s really exciting to see the response from people who are loving the show — and the level of fan engagement,” director and executive producerBen Stillersaid in apress release. “It has been a long road bringingSeveranceto television. I first read Dan’s pilot over five years ago. It has always been a multi-season story, and I’m really happy we get to continue it.”

Scott confirmed to PEOPLE in April 2024 that filming on the second season had wrapped and teased what was to come. “Our core cast is unbelievable already, but we have some just great people coming in for season two, thatI can’t wait for everyone to see,” he said.

Here’s everything to know aboutSeveranceseason 2, including the release date, cast, plot and more news.

Warning: Season 1 spoilers ahead!

How didSeveranceseason 1 leave off?

At the end ofSeverance’s first season, Mark and his coworkers are on a mission to expose Lumon’s conspiracies. They hatch a plan to activate Lumon’s “overtime contingency,” which can “wake up” employees’ “innies” in the outside world. Dylan stays behind after hours and sneaks into the security office, where he wakes up Mark, Helly and Irving.

The finale episode, “The We We Are,” shows Helly waking up at Lumon gala where she is about to give a speech. It’s then revealed that her real name is Helena Eagan and she is the daughter of Lumon CEO James Eagan.

After being woken up, Irving goes to the home of Burt Goodman (Christopher Walken), Lumon’s retired head of Optics and Design with whom his innie has had romantic involvement. There, he discovers that Burt’s outie is in a relationship with another man.

Meanwhile, at his sister’s house, Mark reveals himself to Devon and tells her what he has been experiencing at Lumon. He learns about the death of his outie’s wife, Gemma, before finding a photo that reveals that Ms. Casey, Lumon’s wellness counselor, is actually Gemma and she is, in fact, alive.

After Mark shouts, “She’s alive!” to everyone at the party, Lumon supervisor Seth Milchick (Tramell Tillman) tackles Dylan in the Lumon security office, reverting Mark, Helly and Irving back to their severed states, and the episode ends.

What isSeveranceseason 2 about?

Severanceseason 1 left fans with more questions than answers, and according to show creators, season 2 plans to tackle some of the major ones.

In April 2022, Stiller toldVarietythat the show will continue to explore the budding and complicated romance between Mark and Helly.

“There is this growing connection between Mark and Helly happening during the season, and then on the outside, Mark is trying to get over his wife’s death — and then we’re going to find out that his wife is still alive,” he said.

Stiller continued, “To put him in this position where the Innie Mark, we’re starting to root for him and Helly, but now we also want to root for Outie Mark to find his wife. That’s an interesting juxtaposition and conflict we’ll explore in the second season.”

Erickson shared that season 2 will also offer insight into why Lumon faked Ms. Casey’s death.

“There’s a question of sort of who was targeted first: Was Mark targeted because of his relationship to Gemma, or was it the other way around?” he toldVariety. “And that’s something that we don’t see this season, but we will see in subsequent seasons.”

Erickson added, “That’s the big question, what is special about Mark? And is it actually that there’s something special about him or is it more about Gemma, and he was sort of pulled in? Those are all left unanswered this season, but we will get into it.”

Presumably,Severanceseason 2 will also explore the many other mysteries of Lumon and its employees, including the room of goats that appeared in season 1 and sparked numerous fan theories. In an April 2022 interview withThrillist, Erickson confirmed that the goats are “part of a bigger thing” and hinted that their meaning will be revealed in season 2.

Is there a trailer forSeveranceseason 2?

Thefirst full-length trailerarrived in October 2024, revealing that the new episodes will pick up right where the first season’s finale left off.

Thesecond full-length trailerdropped in December 2024. The nearly two-and-a-half minute teaser shows Milchick encouraging outie Mark to return to work. Innie Mark then discovers that outie Mark’s late wife, Gemma, isstill alive in the form of Ms. Casey, the counselor at Lumon.

Which cast members are returning forSeveranceseason 2?

Adam Scott, Patricia Arquette, John Tuturro, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock, Tramell Tillman, Michael Chernus and Christopher Walken will all be returning forSeverance’s sophomore season, perVariety.

Which new cast members are joiningSeveranceseason 2?

Gwendoline Christie attends the Dior Homme Menswear Fall-Winter 2023-2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 20, 2023. ; Merritt Wever attends the 20th Annual AFI Awards on January 03, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. ; Bob Balaban attends the New York premiere of “Asteroid City” on June 13, 2023 in New York City.Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis/Getty ; Steve Granitz/WireImage ; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis/Getty ; Steve Granitz/WireImage ; Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

In October 2022,Deadlinereported that eight new cast members would appear in season 2, including English actress Gwendoline Christie, best known forGame of ThronesandWednesday, and Merritt Wever ofNurse JackieandGodless.

What has Adam Scott said about returning toSeverance?

During a February 2023 appearance onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Scott shared how the public’s strong reaction to the show has impacted the production process for season 2.

“When we were making season 1 we were like, ‘This is so weird. Is anyone gonna like this or is everyone just gonna think this is stupid?” he said. “Like, we couldn’t tell. We loved it and everything but you never know and it just seemed so strange that we didn’t know.”

Scott continued, “And now we have secret scripts and we have to use code words when we’re on email and it’s so secret. It’s crazy. It feels ridiculous but it’s also great because people want to know.”

In April 2024, the lead actor told PEOPLE that he thought the scripts for the new season were “great” before filming had even begun.

“I was thrilled and couldn’t wait to get there, and get the cameras rolling and film it,” he said.

When wasSeveranceseason 2 filmed?

When willSeveranceseason 2 be released?

Season 2 willpremiere on Jan. 17, 2025.

In the meantime,Severancefans can fill the void withSeverance: The Lexington Letter, a 43-page companion book that tells the story of Lumon Industries employee Margaret “Peg” Kincaid.

Where can I watch and streamSeverance?

source: people.com