Ben Stiller Relates ‘Severance’ to How Hollywood Operates: ‘It’s a Very Tough Environment’

Would Hollywood be easier to deal with if you could just sever yourself into a working Innie and a living Outie? The real issue as an artist is that, often, just the act of living is part of the work. Ben Stiller, the director and executive producer behind Apple TV+’s hit sci-fi series “Severance,” thinks about this often, especially in the last few years with calamity after calamity hitting the industry.

“It’s a very tough environment now to get things made,” said Stiller in a recent interview with The New York Times Magazine. “The strike, post-Covid — it’s more expensive to make things, and I think the decision makers are trying to keep their jobs and trying to figure out how to make things work for them, which means constriction and choices that are safer.”

Part of that industry contraction also means creatives have less understanding or control over the work they’re putting out. Stiller related this to “Severance” in how the Innie characters don’t have a full grasp on what they’re doing for Lumon Industries or who they’re doing it for.

“At a certain point there’s always somebody making a decision who is not making it to your face or you don’t even know who that person is,” Stiller said in relation to how Hollywood works. “Why a decision is made is never explained to the creative person. Or, if it is, it’s usually not the truth. It’s a cliché in Hollywood, but it’s kind of true that everybody will say yes and it doesn’t mean yes. It means no or let me think about it — more than ever, honestly.”

Despite this depressing reality, Stiller still believes “Severance” in many ways exists as an offset of “the workplace comedy,” taking cues from shows like “The Office,” albeit in much “stranger” ways, especially for the upcoming Season 2. Unlike that sitcom however, Stiller and creator Dan Erickson do have a specific direction they intend on taking the show and are gradually working toward it.

“We definitely have an end. I think we now know exactly how many seasons, which I won’t say,” said Stiller, adding later, “The series has always been about Mark and his Innie and his Outie, and the ultimate destination for both of them.”

Season 2 of “Severance” premieres January 17 on Apple TV+.