‘Severance’ second season makes history for Apple TV+
The ongoing second season of Severance has surpassed Ted Lasso to become the most-watched series on Apple TV+.
The long-awaited second season of Severance began streaming on Apple TV+ on January 17th and is currently being released weekly until the finale airs on March 21st. The wait for the second season was over three years, and during that time, the first series found an even bigger audience, which heightened demand for the new batch of episodes.
The series, directed by Ben Stiller, stars Adam Scott as an employee of Lumon Industries who agrees to a severance deal which allows his brain to compartmentalise his work memories from his memories outside of work.
Now, Apple TV+ has revealed that between January 17th and February 17th, Severance has accumulated more unique viewers than any other show in the streaming platform’s history during a one-month period.
Furthermore, there was also a 126 per cent growth in subscribers to Apple TV+ from January 1st to January 19th, 2025, compared with December 1st to December 19th, 2024, which is largely due to Severance’s second season.
Matt Cherniss, head of programming at Apple TV+, said in a statement: “We have long admired Ben’s extraordinary gift for original and immersive storytelling, and with he and Dan at the helm, Severance has proven to be an extraordinary success and a cultural phenomenon.”
Cherniss continued: “The series has become an obsession for audiences all over the world and we can’t wait for people to continue to experience all the masterful twists and turns as the rest of the season unfolds.”
The budget for the second season of Severance is reported to be up to $20 million per episode, according to Deadline. However, the new statistics suggest that Apple TV+’s expensive gamble is paying dividends.
Earlier this week, Stiller highlighted a scene from the classic comedy movie, Step Brothers, which led to him casting Scott to star in the science-fiction series.
In the aforementioned scene, Scott, who plays Will Ferrell’s character’s brother, Derek Huff, is holding court at a family dinner and entertaining those sitting around the table with an anecdote about a fishing trip with Mark Cuban, among other famous faces, before he’s interrupted much to his frustration.
The viral clip of this scene caught the attention of Stiller, who shared it on his X account along with the caption, “One of the funniest scenes in all of movies ever made in history of movies being made.”
In response, an X user asked, “Be honest Ben, how much did Adam’s performance in this scene influence you casting him in Severance?” Stiller then replied, “Completely. It’s when I knew he was an incredible actor.”
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