Amber Neely
"Severance" isn't just surviving the wait for season three, it's becoming the breakout franchise Apple TV+ has been chasing the very beginning.
With "Severance" season 3 in development and the show's cultural footprint continuing to grow, Apple TV+ seems to have stumbled into something it's been chasing since launch: a franchise with legs.
What began as an idea born from one creator's experience with "corporate misery", throughout two seasons evolved into a rare watercooler show. And one that's not only critically acclaimed but also increasingly mainstream.
Terms like "innie" and "outie" have made their way into everyday conversation. The show's presence has spilled out into real-world spaces like Grand Central Station and even Madison Square Garden.
All this hype isn't just good for "Severance." It's good for Apple.
Yes, Apple TV+ has racked up both nominations and awards and yes, it has garnered its fair share of prestige. But it still doesn't have the cultural cache of some of its larger competitors.
Many of its hits, while popular on the service, struggled to break out into the mainstream. Its second popular most series, "Ted Lasso," was the first of its offerings to really drive subscribers to the platform.
But now, "Severance," is being discussed in the context of spin-offs and merchandise. This is the kind of franchise-building talk usually reserved for the likes of HBO or Disney+ — not generally something you'd see at Apple TV+.
And yet, Ben Stiller, who executive produces the show, confirmed in a new interview with Variety, he's got not one, but two potential spinoff concepts. Of course, he didn't bother to elaborate on what stage of development the spin-offs are in, or if they've even been discussed with Apple.
In addition to spin-offs and merchandise, Stiller would like to see a "Severance" video game. Adam Scott, who plays Mark Scout in the series, agrees.
Given the three-year gap between seasons and the behind-the-scenes hiccups that have reportedly occurred, the fact that "Severance" is still gaining steam says a lot. For Apple, which is still trying to justify the streaming service's long-term existence beyond being a nice value-add for hardware buyers, that momentum is invaluable.
-m.jpg)
Charles Martin
Andrew Orr
Marko Zivkovic
William Gallagher
9 Comments
If I’m going to be honest, at least from my surroundings, there was more hype and talk around Ted Lasso. The most conversation I ever heard about Severance was from my local radio show. I haven’t heard much talk coming from friends or older coworkers about this show, even though it is great. With that being said, this does seem like a show that will grow with popularity years down the line. Not the same level of something like Breaking Bad that first came out when I was too young to remember, and by the time I went into college, that was the only thing people would talk and meme about.
Some key things that Apple really needs to focus on here:
1) Merch
This is so important to make shows known to people in the real world. Apple TV+ (along with other streamers) need to give their original programming more of a footprint to make people aware. Merchandising is the answer here. Turning these shows into brands of their own in shops, malls, etc — online or brick and mortar — will drive up awareness with people that wouldn’t normally see ads for these shows in the usual places (annoying ads for niche audiences that people prefer to ignore). Plus, people like buying and collecting stuff to own. Merch for Apple shows like Severence, Ted Lasso, even Foundation would go a long way in supporting the shows and Apple TV+ as a whole.
2) “Justifying” Apple TV+’s Long Term Existence
This tends to be the million dollar question all the time about TV+. Why does anyone NEED to subscribe to a service with all original shows with unknown and unproven IP? Apple wants this service to be NETWORK. A network setting the stage for a post-cable world. Programming for cord cutters. But to achieve this, it needs a more diverse assortment of said programming. The bulk of their content is serial dramas and comedies that require a lot of attention. But they need more than that. And this is why it kinda sucked to see a show like The Problem with Jon Stewart get cancelled. Apple needs different types of programs to compete with other networks. They need a late night program. They need a “Family Guy” adult animation program. They need more live event programming. More sports programming. Only when they nail that down will they achieve that type of consumer perception of their service.
This is more of a personal opinion, and one I know not everyone agrees with. But to piggyback off of my notion about Apple wanting a post-cable TV experience, achieving that requires more than just Apple TV+ getting Apple’s attention. The Apple TV App and Apple TV Channels as a whole need to be boosted in Apple’s plans for the future of television. There’s a whole sub-ecosystem to be tapped into here. And they have the foundations setup for it. Sports integration. The UI. Even small features like Picture in Picture on Apple TV 4K. Apple would be smart to tap into this more and compete more heavily with Amazon Prime TV Channels. Allow skippable ads for other streamers content. Make channels an ad campaign in itself. If Paramount+ is streaming a live game let it have the same compatibility with features such as Multiview that Friday Night Baseball and MLS currently have. Now apply that to Peacock and Max if they were channels. Putting all this under one umbrella would put the Apple TV App at the top of the streaming app food chain. And would only boost TV+ as the center of it.
I'd love to see Apple make the kind of investment in original games for the Mac that they've made in series like Severance for Apple TV+.
Apple has gradually built up a pretty solid technological foundation, both hardware and software, for games on the Mac. They've made it easier to port AAA games from other platforms. Now they need to invest in making some great original and exclusive gaming content.
One Apple TV+ show that would translate nicely into a game is Silo. There are a lot of episodes of that show that feel like a game.
it’s baffling to me (not really) that apple hasn’t had apple arcade games for some of the more viral shows like silo, severance and ted lasso but also murderbot, monarch, for all mankind and even masters of air or hijack. even if they were fairly simple casual games it seems like a no-brainer to develop a game alongside a lot of theses shows.