New Apple TV+ series Severance debuted this week, and is one of the most striking, unique shows of the year so far. It stars Adam Scott (Parks & Recreation, Party Down) as a sad sack office drone who works for a mysterious megalithic corporation, Lumon Industries, deep within the bowels of its headquarters on the "Severed" floor of the building. What that means is best left as a surprise, if you can stand going into a series blind, but I will say Severance is darkly comic, with a sad atmosphere, elements of sci-fi, and owes more than a little to the surreal works of Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich). It keeps on surprising with each episode, too. The series also stars Britt Lower, John Turturro, Patricia Arquette and Christopher Walken, and most of the episodes are directed with a lot of style by Ben Stiller. The first two episodes are available to stream now on Apple TV+ with additional episodes premiering Thursdays. If you can't stand going into a show blind, you can watch the trailer below.
Adding to the show's melancholic, whimsical, dystopian atmosphere is the terrific score by Theodore Shapiro (Yellowjackets, The Eyes of Tammy Faye) that blends traditional score elements, humming electronics and the occasional flight of fancy, like the loungy piece "Labor of Love" which accompanies a very long walk through office hallways. There are also moments that recall Bernard Hermann's work with Hitchcock, and others that dip into post-rock and Radiohead territory.