With an exceptional cast (rounded out by Patricia Arquette, John Turturro and Christopher Walken), this is an original, weird, thought-provoking and beautifully crafted story that asks just how much of ourselves we should give over to our jobs.

With smart performances, an intriguing script, and buckets of style from Ben Stiller in pure thriller mode, it easily climbs up the list of Apple TV+’s best shows.

Playful and mordantly funny, “Severance” is like a Charlie Kaufman-designed nightmare, from the midcentury-menacing set to the way it sketches the innies’ hermetic lives. ... The nine-episode season suffers from streaming slump in the middle, but it hooks you early and accelerates late.

Severance is classic slow-burn TV, lulling you with its hypnotic weirdness before piling on the twists. By the end, I was on the edge of my seat begging for a second season. [14 - 27 Feb 2022, p.7]

It’s wacky, unsettling, and remarkably assured.

There’s a dark humor, absurdist vibe that, alongside the mysteries (What are the workers doing at Lumon? Why does Mark’s boss live next door to him?), makes “Severance” appealing. But some of that interest gets undone by over-long episodes and a thudding pace.

What exactly are we watching? As a critique of office life, it’s empty, and somewhat patronizing. ... There is certainly a strain of comedy being worked here, along with some seemingly random, one might say Buñuelian weirdnesses, but it is not often funny; at times, it feels meant as satire, but of what? ... The season finale is genuinely exciting and suspenseful, but, really, even as an advocate of slow television, we might have got there in half the time with twice the effect.

Absolutely amazing show. Interesting, fantastically acted. And this music, oh boy.

stylistically very refined, but to work it needs too many gimmicks that make it artificial and not very credible.

I agree with most other tepid reviews. While the premise is an elaborate, compelling variation of 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind', Severance seems like a feature length film protracted into a 19 episode season. It has a nice setup and good if somewhat predictable conclusion, but almost everything in between is sterile and plodding. The dialogue is wry but seldom funny. The acting is very good, but they don't have much to work with. Severance might appeal to fans of fond esoteric, dry, intellectual dramas. If you're curious I recommend watching the first 2-3 episodes. That's probably enough to determine if it's worth your time.

Pointless and extremely boring. The workers do nothing all day but state at numbers on theircomputers, there is no discernable reason for them to be severed. It tries way too hard to be "deep" and insightful. Fails miserably. I don't understand why so many people like this show. It's pure dreck

Extremely slow and boring. I only lasted 3.5 episodes of total boredom. Don’t believe the hype.