Apple Studios has purchased the TV series Severance from production company Fifth Season in a deal valued at just under $70 million. The acquisition allows Apple greater control over the show's future, including plans for at least four seasons and possible spin-offs. Season two of the sci-fi thriller premiered in January 2025 and became Apple TV's most-watched series.
Apple Studios completed the acquisition of Severance from Fifth Season, a deal estimated at nearly $70 million. This move internalizes the series, enabling Apple to oversee long-term development more directly. The company approached Fifth Season to buy the rights, amid the producer's requests for financial advances and considerations to relocate production from New York to Canada for tax benefits. Apple opted to cover the costs and maintain filming in New York.
Severance, a sci-fi thriller known for its complex storytelling, extensive visual effects, and large sets, reportedly cost up to $20 million per episode for its 10-episode second season. Fifth Season, a major supplier to Apple TV alongside Warner Bros. and Sony, also handles projects like Chief Of War, See, Truth Be Told, Roar, Lady In The Lake, and The Savant. Apple maintains a partnership with Red Hour Productions, run by executive producer Ben Stiller, which includes producers John Lesher and Jackie Cohn.
The series has official renewal for a third season, announced in March, with filming potentially starting in summer. Plans incorporate a fourth season, though a fifth appears unlikely. Creators Ben Stiller and Dan Erickson have indicated three or four seasons as ideal, with possibilities for prequels, spin-offs, or international adaptations.
Season two launched in January 2025, releasing one episode weekly, and earned widespread acclaim. NME awarded it five stars, calling it the 'smartest thing on TV.' The review stated: 'Severance is a show best watched on high alert. For example, graffiti scrawled in the background reads “Who is alive?” By the time The Stone Roses’ “Love Spreads” hits the soundtrack, with Ian Brown wailing “Let me put you in the picture / Let me show you what I mean”, you’ll be begging for the Severance team to do the same.' NME also listed it among 2025's best shows, noting: 'Season two did exactly what a good follow-up series should do, with creator Dan Erickson deepening the mysteries and raising the stakes of this surreal love story. New characters added to the weird vibes, from the child-like Miss Huang (Sarah Bock) to Gwendoline Christie’s goat-tending Lumon employee Lorne – spawning more theories than a Lost fan convention. With another edge-of-your-seat season finale leaving us dangling, this oddball gem played a blinder.'
