After the death of his wife, Mark Scout (Adam Scott) has lost his footing.
He has to give up his job as a university professor because of depression.
Desperation drives him to make a radical decision: brainwash himself to forget.
But the procedure not only serves to free him from his painful memories, but also to make him a more efficient employee.
At least that's what the Lumon Industries company, to which he applies, promises him.
Kevin Hanschke
volunteer.
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The science fiction series "Severance" leads into a not too distant future in which the work-life balance can only be achieved with the help of machines.
Ben Stiller produced and directed six of the nine episodes.
Also involved were Irish indie film director Aoife McArdle and screenwriter Dan Erickson.
The three create a moral portrait of modern working life, in which people and machines enter into a disturbing professional community of convenience.
When Mark enters the office building in the morning, which with its glass façade and white walls is reminiscent of Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, he forgets his private life because of the computer chip implanted in his brain and becomes his work ego "Innie".
When he leaves the Lumon Industries premises after hours of concentrated work, he becomes his private self "outie" again and forgets everything he has worked in the office.
The strict separation is the top priority of the company.
Only those who get involved are allowed to go home and be private.
From then on, Mark commutes between the two different worlds and makes friends in the underground department "Macrodata Refinement", which deals with thought research.
"Severance" unfolds a mosaic of different office characters that have undergone the intervention.
At headquarters they are anonymous and only bear their initials.
Dylan G. (Zach Cherry), a quiet but ambitious colleague, sets several work records and becomes more and more of a dislike.
At first nobody wants to defend themselves
Irving B. (John Turturro), a bureaucrat and a die-hard pedant, has memorized the company handbook to impress his bosses.
Helly B. (Britt Lower) is the newest employee and the only woman in the office.
She is involuntarily at Lumon and criticizes the company.
Her questions also raise doubts among her colleagues.
But nobody wants to fight back at first.
Between science fiction and religious horror thriller
Lumon Industries, whose business activities remain unmentioned, has been criticized for research into so-called thought management.
But this criticism bounces off his employees, they defend their employer, and that is disturbingly reminiscent of the identifying principles of working in the large digital corporations of today.
Stiller and McArdle show how, in a world of absolute efficiency, human closeness is the element that can trigger revolutions.
Maybe Mark isn't as lonely as he thinks he is?
So it's about morality and free will, but above all it's about the question of whether technology can really contribute to a healthier relationship between work and private life.
The cold atmosphere of the American open plan office is transferred to the screen in gray and white.
Neon tubes and sterile walls shield employees from the outside world.
Some characters and motives are not told in full, but indicate what the task of private life means for the individual.
While Ben Stiller's episodes are much more oriented towards science fiction, McArdle's series develops more in the direction of a sectarian horror thriller.
Stiller's scenery is subtle, McArdle's is more mystical and surreal.
At a time when there is a lot of talk about work-life balance and companies are trying to encourage their employees to become more efficient through wellness, sport and healthy eating or, like the tech giants in Silicon Valley, are increasingly intertwining work and everyday life, "Severance" is a fascinating dystopia that raises important questions.
Especially those about the value of work, which their protagonist keeps asking himself in the face of his grief.
Severance
runs on Apple TV