‘The Office’ Was a ‘Huge Influence’ on ‘Severance,’ Ben Stiller Says

Ben Stiller revealed that one of the biggest shows on the planet was a big inspiration for “Severance” – NBC’s “The Office.”

While talking with “Morning Joe” for the second season premiere of the Apple TV+ series, Stiller said the office place sitcom was a “huge influence” on “Severance” because of how it examined the inner workings of big companies.

“I have to also say one of the shows for me that was a huge influence on ‘Severance’ is ‘The Office,'” Stiller said. “And that’s another show that’s incredibly simple – brilliant, and one set that they really are always in. Corporate culture right now, these huge corporations, you know, this kind of faceless, nameless sort of sometimes ideology of the company, these big companies, it’s weird. So, you know, I think people relate to that.”

“The Office” followed employees across many departments of a regional branch of paper company Dunder-Mifflin. “Severance” on the other hand examines employees of the mysterious Lumon Corporation who have their minds severed so it feels like they’re constantly at work. While the broad concepts might be different, it’s clear the monotonous day-to-day of office life runs parallel between the shows.

“Severance” finally returned to Apple TV+ three years after its acclaimed first season. Creator and executive producer Dan Erickson told TheWrap that the delay lasted so long because it was feeling that some things were not quite right and needed reworking.

“It’s just a feeling. Ben [Stiller] and I work together really closely on crafting the story, both at an outlining phase and then with the scripts. You just sort of know when you know,” Erickson told TheWrap. “We were very adamant that we not move ahead at any point until we really felt like we had it.”

“Severance” Season 2 streams Fridays on Apple TV+.

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