Bad news for everyone who's ready to clock into Lumon Industries for season 3 of "Severance" — and no, I'm not talking about a delay. Apparently, executive producer Ben Stiller, who's also helmed several episodes of the show as a director, won't be directing any episodes in the upcoming third season.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Stiller went through a laundry list of projects he's working on that have taken him away from "Severance" — though it's important to note that the profile says
he and "showrunner Dan Erickson and the writing team have been spending much of the year planning season 3 so that Stiller can step away." Not only is Stiller apparently directing a World War II movie about "the true story of a downed airman in occupied France and how he got involved with the French Resistance," but he's also working on a documentary about his famous parents — Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, who passed away in 2020 and 2015, respectively — and a new TV show for HBO called "The Band." Plus, Stiller is jonesing to make a film using Rachel Maddow's podcast "Bag Man," about Vice President Spiro Agnew. Oh, and on top of all that, he's starring in "Focker-in-Law," a "Meet the Parents" sequel that's set to co-star Robert De Niro and Ariana Grande.
"I'm at the point in my life where I'm like, 'The clock is ticking,'" Stiller told interviewer Glenn Whipp, even though the two were actually talking about Stiller's beloved New York Knicks winning another championship. Still, the subject turned to Stiller's upcoming 60th birthday in November, and the filmmaker and comedy legend made it clear that he's just very busy.
"60 sounds old. It's hard to get around it," Stiller admitted to Whipp. "And of course, it's that other thing of, like, you know what the next one is."
"These things take time to come together," he continued, "and the older you get, the more you realize that you only have so much time."
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Ben Stiller Has Directed Much Of Severance So Far, But The Show Will Likely Be Just Fine Without Him
In the first two seasons of "Severance," Ben Stiller has sort of been the show's go-to director, especially for scripts penned by creator Dan Erickson. The series' pilot, "Good News About Hell" — which introduces us to the severed floor of Lumon Industries by focusing on brand new innie Helly R. (Britt Lower) on her first day of work — was, indeed, written by Erickson and directed by Stiller, as is the second episode "Half Loop," which fully establishes the show's logic. (At Lumon, the characters go to work as their innies, who only exist on the severed floor, and revert to their "real life" outies when they leave.) In fact, Stiller directed all but three episodes of the show's first season (episodes 4, 5, and 6 were directed by Aoife McArdle), and he also helmed the season 2 premiere "Hello, Mrs. Cobel," with Erickson once again writing. Perhaps most importantly, Stiller and Erickson teamed up as director and writer for the stunning season 2 finale "Cold Harbor."
I understand this reads like a Wikipedia page, but I want to make it quite clear that Stiller's absence will be a big and likely temporary loss for "Severance." (Who knows what his schedule will look like if and when the show continues into a fourth season.) Still, there are a ton of worthy candidates ready to jump into the director's chair for season 3. One name I want to specifically spotlight is Jessica Lee Gagné, the show's director of photography who directed the stunning season 2 episode "Chikhai Bardo," undoubtedly one of the show's best-ever hours. Unfortunately, like Stiller, Gagné is also taking some time away from Lumon Industries to work on a feature-length movie, but might still be involved in some capacity. Really, what I'm getting at here is that "Severance" has plenty of brilliant creative minds working behind the scenes, many of whom may yet turn out absolutely stunning episodes. We'll have to wait and see, but I'm not that worried. "Severance" hasn't let me down yet, and Stiller knows expectations are high — and again, a new class of directors might end up emerging from this shake-up.
"Severance" seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Apple TV+. A premiere date for season 3 has yet to be announced.
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