BEN STILLER AND JOHN TURTURRO TEASE ‘SEVERANCE' SEASON 2: ‘WE ARE DELVING INTO THE UNKNOWN'

At long last, "Severance" Season 2 is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on Jan. 17, 2025, nearly three years after the first season premiered. When the sci-fi workplace thriller returns, it is sure to resolve some of the cliffhangers that left fans buzzing after the Season 1 finale.

"I think it'll be a really interesting second season," John Turturro, who plays company man Irving, told Variety. "We are delving into the unknown that the audience is waiting for, and then doing it incrementally."

For director and executive producer Ben Stiller, a three-year gap between seasons has them hoping these new episodes live up to fans' lofty expectations.

"It's an interesting experience," he said of working on Season 2 of "Severance." "I've never been through it before - a second season of anything. Everything I've done has gotten canceled back in the day. But, you know, I feel like there's an expectation that the audience has - that they should have if they love something. For us, it's just been the process of trying to live up to our expectation of what we think the show should be and commit to that."

"Severance" follows a group of employees at a mysterious bio-tech company whose work lives and home lives have been "severed" via an experimental procedure. The series also stars Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Patricia Arquette, Zach Cherry and Christopher Walken. Production on the first season of "Severance" was postponed due to the pandemic, and filming on Season 2 was beleaguered by the Hollywood strikes and reported creative disputes.

"It's been an interesting, trying time over the last few years to make things, on all levels for people," said Stiller. "So to keep that focus on trying to make the best possible season, being aware that it's taken a long time. I, like other people, get frustrated when things take a long time. I want to have the next season sooner. So I understand that feeling of the expectation."

Stiller continued, "It's taken a long time. I hope it's good. You know, people are just wanting something to live up to what they've experienced and have it hopefully not let them down. And so, I don't know, All you all you can do is try to do what you think is good."

With the Season 2 premiere still months away, Stiller said, "I'm excited for it. We put it put everything into it. And it's been fun to explore the story and work with these actors and [series creator] Dan Erickson. I've never had that experience of being with something for so long, where the characters really start to have a life and the actors understand the characters so well, and it grows into something more."

Stiller and Turturro stopped by Variety‘s Toronto Film Festival Studio, sponsored by J.Crew and SharkNinja, to promote their respective movies "The Cut" and "Nutcrackers."