‘Severance’ is Now an ‘Innie’ as Apple Takes Full Creative Control
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One of the most-watched shows on Apple TV is making a significant move to a new “innie” studio — a shift that will hopefully both speed up production and guarantee its life for at least two more seasons.
Like many Apple Originals, Severance was bankrolled by Apple but produced by an outside studio — indie Fifth Studios in this case. However Deadline reports that will be changing for the third season onward, with Apple acquiring all rights to the series and bringing it to Apple Studios — the in-house operation Apple’s worldwide video chiefs Zack van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht set up in 2020 for major projects like Masters of the Air.
Produced by an “outie” studio for its first two seasons, Apple TV‘s flagship drama series Severance will now be made by an “innie” one. In a deal finalized late last year, Apple has acquired Severance — the IP and all rights — from Fifth Season, Deadline has learned.
Nellie Andreeva
Since its inception, Apple Studios has produced 28 movies and 35 TV shows, including its five highest grossing films, F1, Napoleon, Killers of the Flower Moon, Argylle, and Fly Me to the Moon — although those last four pale in comparison to the first. The studio also has nearly two dozen other projects already in production — a list that now includes season 3 of Severance.
What This Means for ‘Severance’
Apple reportedly paid $70 million for the deal, which leaves Fifth Season as an executive producer, but puts Apple in creative control. It’s not the first time Apple has done something like this mid-series, as Silo, Invasion, and Frog and Toad also came into Apple Studios after their first-season runs.
Other hits like Lessons in Chemistry, Palm Royale, Sugar, and Stick have also been produced by Apple Studios from the beginning, and The Savant, which is done but has yet to air, was produced by Apple Studios in partnership with Fifth Season, so there’s already precedent for a working relationship between the two companies where Apple sits in the driver’s seat. Nevertheless, many of Apple’s other really big hits, including Ted Lasso, The Studio, and Pluribus, remain with outside studios.
According to Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva, Apple’s decision to buy out control of Severance stems from the complexity and costs of producing the show.
Season 2 of Severance became Apple’s most watched series at the time and was the most nominated program at the 2025 Emmys with 27, winning eight awards. That was a great result but getting there wasn’t a walk in the park.
Nellie Andreeva
In short, it seems the “massive sets and extensive VFX” were getting to be too much for Fifth Season, particularly given executive producer Ben Stiller’s “feature mentality” and his meticulous attention to every narrative and visual detail.
After reportedly blowing its bankroll on season 2, during which it had to wrestle with COVID-19 protocols and Hollywood strikes, Fifth Season was asking for cash advances from Apple and contemplating moving the series from New York to Canada, where it could get better tax breaks (some parts of Season 2 were filmed in Newfoundland, but the bulk of the production was in New York).
Apple was already shouldering a larger load in the relationship, including working up advertising deals which it still had to run by Fifth Season as the studio, so the Apple TV execs decided that it would be easier if they simply owned the show outright. Apple’s deeper pockets meant it wouldn’t have any problem waiting for tax rebates to show up, meaning the series could remain in New York where it’s already been established.
Apple’s deal with Stiller’s Red Hour Films was also a factor. That studio includes two Severance executive producers, and is also producing The Off Weeks for Apple TV, in which Stiller will star. This makes it easier for Apple to share Stiller between both productions, as there’s suddenly one less studio involved in the mix.
For the viewers, it hopefully means we’ll see season 3 arrive even sooner, since Apple can use its pile of cash to work through logistical and financial issues that were more complicated for Fifth Season to navigate. That doesn’t mean it’s right around the corner — scripts still have to be finalized, and filming still isn’t set to begin until at least April — but Apple is in a better position to ensure everything remains on track.
Apple has also committed to a fourth season for Severance, and is even potentially looking at ways to expand the franchise — including exploring international adaptions and even an Eagan family prequel series — all of which are easier to do if it’s entirely under Apple’s control.
While Severance remains locked in for two more seasons, Stiller and creator Dan Erickson apparently don’t expect that, although there’s plenty of room for spinoffs, prequels, and other stories in the Severance universe. While they’ve already presumably sketched out a four-season arc, much like we saw with Ted Lasso’s first three seasons, Ted already showed us there’s always hope if you “Believe.”
