Every so often, we get a new television series that fully becomes part of the pop culture lexicon. It used to be called a “water cooler show” but, well, everybody works from home now, or they bring their own water bottle to work if they do go into the office. How do people even meet anymore? Sorry, we’ve gotten off-topic. When Apple TV released an intriguing workplace mystery show, people weren’t paying that much attention, but suddenly, everything changed and now everyone wants to work at Lumon Industries.
Created by Dan Erickson and executive produced by Ben Stiller, Severanceimagines a world where employees can surgically divide their work memories from their personal lives. For Lumon Industries employee Mark Scout (Adam Scott), that separation begins to unravel after a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries. The official synopsis states:
“Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives. When a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their jobs.”
The series stars Britt Lower (Dark Winds) as Helly R., Tramell Tillman (Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning) as Seth Milchick, Zach Cherry (Fallout) as Dylan George, John Turturro (The Batman Part II) as Irving Bailiff, Christopher Walken (Dune: Part Two) as Burt Goodman, Patricia Arquette(They Will Kill You) as Harmony Cobel, and Dichen Lachman (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) as Ms. Casey.
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Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars
Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you’d actually make it out of alive.
💊The Matrix
🔥Mad Max
🌧️Blade Runner
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🏜️Dune
🚀Star Wars
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01
You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.
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02
In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.
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03
What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
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04
How do you deal with authority you don’t trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.
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05
Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn’t just tactical — it’s physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.
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06
Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.
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07
Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they’re actually made of.
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08
What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.
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Your Fate Has Been Calculated You’d Survive In…
Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.
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The Resistance, Zion
The Matrix
You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You’re a systems thinker who can’t help but notice the seams in things.
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You’re drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You’d find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines’ worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You’d be the one probing the walls for the door.
The Wasteland
Mad Max
The wasteland doesn’t reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That’s you.
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You don’t need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you’re good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.
Los Angeles, 2049
Blade Runner
You’d survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.
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You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You’re not a hero. But you’re not lost, either.
In Blade Runner’s world, that distinction is everything.
Arrakis
Dune
Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.
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Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they’re survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You’d learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn’t just survive Arrakis — you’d begin to reshape it.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn’t have it any other way.
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You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You’d gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire’s grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn’t something you’re capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.
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Is ‘Severance’ Worth Watching?
Severance has become one of the most acclaimed television series of the decade. Both seasons have earned extraordinary critical praise, with Rotten Tomatoes scores comfortably above 95%, while the series has collected multiple Emmy Awards and become one of Apple TV’s biggest flagship originals. Critics have lauded it for the genius of the writing and the premise of the series itself, combined with the stunning and star-making performances (in the case of Tillman, especially, who booked himself a Mission: Impossible movie and a Spider-Man movie in the wake of the series) and the incredible production design. It’s also been acclaimed for its daring and its willingness to embrace some genuinely odd storytelling without actually sacrificing any emotional beats that make the characters so relatable.
Severance is streaming now on Apple TV. A third season is officially in development. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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