Notice to all Lumon employees: it’s time to return to the office. Taking audiences by storm in the winter of 2022, Apple TV+’s acclaimed Emmy and Peabody-winning series, “Severance,” finally returns for a second season in early 2025. Hailing from director and executive producer Ben Stiller and creator, writer, and executive producer Dan Erickson, “Severance” stars Emmy Award nominee Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Tramell Tillman, Zach Cherry, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman, Emmy Award winner John Turturro, Academy Award winner Christopher Walken and Academy and Emmy Award winner Patricia Arquette.

Continue reading ‘Severance’ Season 2 Trailer: The Lumon Staff Returns To Work On Jan 17, 2025 at The Playlist.

In the winter of 2022, as the pandemic had trained many to stay indoors during the cold season, Apple TV+’s “Severance” soon became a huge hit and eventually a big Emmy player, earning 14 nominations at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series (read our season one review).

And now, the series, from director and executive producer Ben Stiller and creator Dan Erickson, comes “Severance,” season two, which is now revealed to be arriving in January of 2025.

Continue reading ‘Severance’ Teaser Trailer: Season 2 Finally Returns January 2025 at The Playlist.

The truth is, Apple TV+ still isn’t a serious streaming contender. Sure, it has many flashy projects with A-list names. But what streaming service nowadays doesn’t? But that doesn’t mean Apple TV+ is going to slow down. If anything, the streaming service has the biggest pockets to draw from, so it can keep pumping out massive projects, as seen in a new teaser.

READ MORE: Summer TV Preview: Over 35 Must-See Series To Watch

While short on release dates or meaningful plot details, Apple TV+ released a sizzle reel-esque teaser for all the shows and films that are coming soon to the streaming service.

Continue reading Apple TV+ Sizzle Reel Offers First Looks At ‘Severance’ S2, ‘Fly Me To The Moon,’ ‘The Instigators’ & More at The Playlist.

Here is our Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series of 2024 (The Strike-Affected Edition!) feature. 2023’s WGA/SAG-AFTRA/AMPTP strikes were essentially the COVID-19 of 2020. While thankfully, they weren’t as physically deadly, the work stoppage did significantly affect many people in the business and their financial stability. What ties them both together more closely is the disruption of content and product. With streamers already cutting back, regressing on the streaming boom thanks to Wall Street’s reevaluation of their worth, and the strikes delaying a lot of shows for an entire year, the #AgeOfTooMuchContent might officially be coming to a close.

Continue reading The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2024 at The Playlist.

The Peabody Awards revealed their 2023 winners in entertainment and for a number of programs it’s a welcome boost for their Emmy nomination prospects. Apple TV+ had three programs honored: “Bad Sisters,” “Pachinko” and “Severance.” HBO landed two winners in “We’re Here,” a rare non-fiction selection, and “Los Espookys,” a program the network disappointingly canceled in December.

READ MORE: “Andor’s” Genevieve O’Reilly: “I don’t think rebellion is pretty” [Interview]

Other winners this year include ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” the Lucasfilm Disney+ series “Andor,” the streamer’s first original program to land the honor, and Netflix’s“Mo.” “Better Call Saul” and “Atlanta” made history as rare double Peabody Award winners.

Continue reading ‘Andor,’ ‘Abbott Elementary’ & ‘We’re Here’ Win 2023 Peabody Awards at The Playlist.

Is all well over at Apple TV+‘s “Severance“? Not according to Puck News, who report that Season 2 of the hit show has run into some roadblocks, including scrapped scripts and showrunner who hate each other. That’s not exactly what Apple wants from a show that nabbed 5 Emmy noms in its first season.

READ MORE: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2023

Here’s what Puck News says is the issue: Dan Erickson, who wrote the original “Severance” pilot, and Mark Friedman, hated working together on Season 1 so much that Friedman planned to leave the show before S2.

Continue reading ‘Andor’s Beau Willimon Added To ‘Severance’ Season 2 & 3, Amid Reports Of Delays & Production Troubles at The Playlist.

After revealing the documentary and news categories earlier this week, the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors revealed the nominees in the entertainment, podcast/radio, arts, children’s & youth, and interactive and immersive fields this morning. The good news is that thanks to the nominations, some criticially acclaimed series such as “Andor,” “Our Flag Means Death” and “Pachinko” stepped into a well deserved spotlight. There were also three series that received a second nomination, a rarity for the Peabody Awards which traditionally nominates a program once.

Continue reading ‘Andor,’ ‘Severance,’ ‘We’re Here’ Earn 2023 Peabody Awards Nominations at The Playlist.

By now, everyone knows The Hollywood Reporter roundtables. And yes, they didn’t invent the format, but thanks to the array of A-list talent they get—actors, directors, writers, producers, comedians, etc.—THR’s roundtable series has become quite popular and notable, especially in the last few years as the brand has risen and all the top tier talent flock to the series, especially during awards season.

READ MORE: Elisabeth Moss, Claire Foy, Sandra Oh & More Discuss Pay Disparity And Being Able To “Say No” To Roles

Awards season might be over, but that didn’t stop comedy partners Rajat Suresh and Jeremy Levick—you might remember them from the “conservative lecturer DESTROYS SJW college student”/Mr.

Continue reading Justin Theroux & Comedians Rajat Suresh & Jeremy Levick Mock Thespians & The Hollywood Reporter’s Actors Roundtable Conversations at The Playlist.

There were three different guild award ceremonies on Sunday, but the one that studio executives were paying the most attention to was the Writers Guild of America Awards. And, no, it wasn’t because they were looking for more guidance in which screenplay to vote for on their Oscar ballot. Both the DGA and WGA unions will see their contracts expire in the next few months and a work stoppage could have serious ramifications for Hollywood.

Continue reading ‘Women Talking,’ ‘Everything Everywhere,’ & ‘Severance’ Win At The 2023 WGA Awards at The Playlist.

Adam Scott has felt critical and audience love before. He was a member of the celebrated “Parks and Recreation” ensemble which ran on NBC for seven seasons from 2009 to 2015. But, as an actor, he’s never experienced what his performance on “Severance” has afforded him. This past August he earned Emmy nominations as both producer and Lead Actor on the Apple TV+ series. As the year draws to an end, he can also add Spirit Award, Critics Choice Award, and Golden Globe Award nominations to his resume.

Continue reading ‘Severance’: Adam Scott On Returning To The Mental Grind Of The Lumon Set For Season 2 [Interview] at The Playlist.

The big movie theater comeback we all expected may have been slightly delayed by a year (we see you 2023), but the past 12 months saw “some” great cinema find its way to the masses. And while the selections at Telluride, Sundance, and TIFF were disappointing overall, Cannes thankfully delivered the goods. In fact, of our top 10 films of 2022, three debuted on la Croisette.

READ MORE: The Playlist’s 25 Best Films of 2022

Unlike television, where Peak TV has made whittling down to 10 selections extremely difficult, we were truly only passionate about just five of our film selections.

Continue reading Gregory Ellwood’s Top 10 Films & TV Programs Of 2022 at The Playlist.

The movie honorees received their flowers last month and this morning, Film Independent revealed the highly anticipated television nominees for the 2023 Film Independent Spirit Awards. Four programs took three nominations each: “Abbott Elementary,” “The Bear,” “Severance” and “Station Eleven.” In the Best Scripted Series category, the latter three were joined by “The Porter” and “Pachinko” as “Abbott” did not make the cut.

READ MORE: “Everything Everywhere All At Once” tops 2023 Spirit Awards Film Nominations

“Pachinko” was also rewarded with the Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series award for stars Soji Arai, Jin Ha, Inji Jeong, Minha Kim, Kaho Minami, Lee Minho, Steve Sanghyun Noh, Anna Sawai, Jimmi Simpson, and Yuh-jung Youn.

Continue reading ‘Abbott Elementary,’ ‘The Bear,’ ‘Severance’ Top 2023 Spirit Award TV Nominations at The Playlist.

Two years ago, Bob Iger pointed to the rafters and said, the future of our business is on streaming and Disney+. By then, everyone had a streaming service or one in the works, and it ushered in the age of #TooMuchContent. However, as we know, after the Wall Street Netflix crash of April 2022, which impacted the entire industry as the stock market totally reevaluated the worth of all streaming services, things are changing.

Continue reading The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2023 at The Playlist.

The streaming age might be in flux as we speak. The biggest story of the year, without question​​—which maybe some people don’t recognize as the biggest story of the year, but trust us, it was— was the Netflix stock crash of April 2022. After years of flying high, Wall Street suddenly turned on Netflix, turned on streaming, and started rethinking their evaluations of the profit margins on streaming. This news rocked the film and TV industry.

Continue reading The Best TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2022 at The Playlist.

Directed by Ben Stiller and from his RedHour productions, the Apple TV+ series surreal office works thriller “Severance” became a massive hit in the winter of 2022. Trying to capitalize on the buzz, Apple TV is moving fast on season two and has added a bevy of new actors as production has begun.

The new casting additions include Gwendoline Christie (“Game of Thrones,” “Sandman“), Alia Shawkat (“Search Party,” “Old Man“), Bob Balaban (“Seinfeld,” “The French Dispatch“), Merrit Wever (“Unbelievable,” “Godless”), Robby Benson (“Beauty & The Beast,” “One To One”), Stefano Carannante (“Mirabilia”), John Noble (“Fringe,” “Elementary,” “The Lord of The Rings” films) and Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (“The Tourist”).

Continue reading ‘Severance’ Season 2 Adds Gwendoline Christie, Alia Shawkat, Bob Balaban & More at The Playlist.

The most crowded season in television history just came to a close for Emmy voters, leaving professionals scrambling to figure out how to dig out from the weight of so many new and returning shows. Programs that had been delayed because of COVID like “Atlanta” and “Barry” came roaring back, and all of the major networks and streamers seemed to invest in the Limited Series game. The result was a sense that television had become almost overwhelming, making it harder than ever to hear the best voices through all the noise.

Continue reading The Best TV Of 2022… So Far at The Playlist.

With Emmy nomination voting beginning today, the Television Critics Association revealed the nominees for the 2022 TCA Awards. In something of a surprise, Quinta Brunson’s “Abbott Elementary” leads all programs with five nominations. It was followed by “Better Call Saul,” “Severance,” and “Yellowjackets,” which earned four nods each.

READ MORE: “Ted Lasso” dominates 2021 TCA Awards taking Program of the Year

“Abbott” not only earned a Program of the Year nomination but two Individual Achievements in Comedy (Brunson, Janelle James), Outstanding New Program, and Outstanding Achievement in Comedy.

Continue reading ‘Abbott Elementary’ Leads 2022 TCA Awards Nominations at The Playlist.

Apple TV+‘s critical hit series “Severance,” led by Adam Scott (“Parks & Recreation“), ended this week on a cliffhanger, don’t worry, no spoilers here. The surreal, strange show, something of a post-Charlie Kaufman-esque series about “work-life balance,” was renewed this week for a second season following the finale (which makes sense after that ending). Concept heavy—about employees at a company called Lumon who have undergone a severance procedure, which surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives—the series already felt like an extended movie mini-series.

Continue reading ‘Severance’: Creator Dan Erickson Says Apple Series Could Have Somewhere Between Two-To-Six Seasons at The Playlist.

Actor/filmmaker Ben Stiller is no stranger to examining the rigors of the American workplace. Ever since he shined a light on everyone’s favorite cable guy in, well, “The Cable Guy,” Stiller has spent some time dwelling on the relationship we have with our work and those who work with and for us. Jim Carrey‘s slapdash, stalky cable installation man is less an ugly caricature of a hapless blue-collar weirdo and more a dark dive into the delicate void of friendship, professionalism, and obsession that comes when we connect with people who we didn’t choose.

Continue reading ‘Severance’ Review: Ben Stiller Crafts A Fascinating, Eerie Meditation On Work Culture at The Playlist.

There’s no shortage of exciting television shows released this February, kicking things off strong with the much-anticipated miniseries “Pam & Tommy” starring Lily James and Sebastian Stan as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. The month will see the return of Shonda Rhimes, two series finales, an off-kilter and unexpected comedy series starring Will Arnett, and science fiction miniseries, which look to be the next big shows to dominate the discourse. 

February will also see the return of HBO’s “Raised by Wolves” and Netflix’s “Raising Dion” along with the fourth season of “The Marvelous Mrs.

Continue reading 11 TV Shows To Watch In February: ‘Pam & Tommy,’ ‘Killing Eve’ & More at The Playlist.

In these seemingly unending days of COVID, the boundaries between work and life haven’t just blurred; they’ve dissolved altogether to make a morass of our waking lives. Now, what if that boundary was not only back in place but also induced by a medical procedure, so our professional and personal lives remain permanently divided?

READ MORE: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2022

That’s the crux of “Severance,” a new series coming to Apple TV+ next month.

Continue reading ‘Severance’ Trailer: Adam Scott & Patricia Arquette Star In A Trippy “Work-Life-Balance” Series For Director Ben Stiller at The Playlist.

People always say that you shouldn’t bring your work home with you. The strict boundaries between your work life and personal life are vital for happiness. In the new Apple TV+ series, “Severance,” that idea is taken to the extreme.

READ MORE: ‘The Champions’: Ben Stiller & Cate Blanchett To Adapt The ‘60s Series Into A Feature Film

“Severance” reunites the duo of director Ben Stiller and actress Patricia Arquette, who previously worked together on “Escape at Dannemora,” in a story of a group of people who undergo a procedure that makes them forget their work-life the second they go home.

Continue reading ‘Severance’ Teaser: Patricia Arquette, Adam Scott, John Turturro & More Star In Ben Stiller’s Apple TV+ Series at The Playlist.

At the risk of repeating ourselves, though we do encourage you to read our intro and list of the Best TV Shows & Mini-Series of 2021, there is a lot of television out there and it’s only growing. And growing immensely. With the advent of the streaming age and then the super-charged streaming age of the last two/three years. In trying to catch up to Netflix, Disney+ launched November 2019, AppleTV+ and HBO Max weren’t far behind and now pretty much every company in movies and television has its own streaming network.

Continue reading The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2022 at The Playlist.

Another year comes to a close, another overlong, ahem, thorough most anticipated list from your friends at The Playlist. This time, we’re talking television and yes, there’s a lot of TV to deal with. Frankly, however, with the explosion of streaming, the second age of PeakTV, now known as the Streaming Age, we’re somewhat surprised this list isn’t over 100 picks long. Disney+ and Apple TV+ may have launched in late 2019, but 2020 really brought us the full breadth of both those streaming services wares.

Continue reading The 65 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2021 at The Playlist.

You wouldn’t be wrong if you said that Apple’s strategy for winning the Streaming Wars is built on the idea of signing A-list actors and filmmakers to basically make whatever they want, within the fairly family-friendly confines of the tech company’s ecosystem. So far, judging by the buzz and early reviews, those first series (“The Morning Show,” “Dickinson,” “See,” and “For All Mankind”) have each featured at least one big name attached to them but have ultimately been seen as duds.

Continue reading Ben Stiller To Direct Adam Scott In The New Apple TV+ Thriller Series ‘Severance’ at The Playlist.