Right now, Severance Season 3 is mysterious and important. Although it’s set to take “less time” than Season 2, Adam Scott has revealed how long it takes to shoot one episode, and we could still be waiting a while.
If you’re a fan of the Apple TV+ series, you’ll know that Season 2 was well worth the wait (check out our five-star review). But it’s easy to forget how excruciating that three-year gap really was.
This was bolstered by the fact that the Season 1 finale ended on one of the best TV cliffhangers in modern history: Mark’s Innie found out his wife Gemma was not only alive but Ms. Casey, while Helly discovered she’s the daughter of Lumon’s CEO.
Somehow, Season 2’s cliffhanger topped it. The good news is that Apple TV+ renewed the show for a third season, the bad news is we may be waiting a while before journeying back to Kier, PE.
Adam Scott reveals how long Severance episodes take to shoot
Adam Scott appeared on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, where he revealed that Severance Season 2 took 186 days – or around six months – to shoot. Since production for Season 3 hasn’t started yet, we’re looking at a late 2026 release date at the earliest.
But even that ballpark is a huge long shot, as the writers’ room is currently working hard at nailing the script, there’s still no filming start date, and there’s editing to factor in. One of the many reasons Severance is such a success is the impeccable writing and cinematography, all of which takes time.
The topic was raised when Poehler asked Scott how long it takes to film one episode, to which he replied, “Well, it depends… It’s long. Season 2, I think it was 186 days, which is a long time, you know.
“I think one episode took around six weeks and then it’s averaged out because we shoot them three at a time, all mixed up together.”
All that being said, Season 1 took even longer to film. “We shot the entire thing at once. So in month nine we were still shooting scenes from the first episode,” Scott added.
So, although Severance is a timely process, the creators have shortened the production time over the course of the first two chapters. Plus, Season 2 was delayed further by the Hollywood strikes, which won’t have an impact this time round.
Last month, Apple TV’s head of programming, Matt Cherniss, spoke about the progress of Severance Season 3, telling Variety, “I think everyone’s just going to take a deep breath and enjoy where we’re at.
“I know they’re going as quickly as they can. When you have the success that a show like Severance has, you want to make sure you deliver on every level when the show comes back, and that takes some time. But they’re on it, and I think I’m feeling really good about where we’re at.”
“No one wants it to be another three year gap… I don’t believe that we have a production start date yet, but we’re moving in that direction,” he added.
Earlier this year, creator Dan Erickson shared similar hopes, telling Gizmodo, “I certainly would like it to [take less time], yeah. And the conversations we have had about it, that’s been in the conversation.
“Because Season 2 actually took about the same amount of time as Season 1. The difference, of course, is Season 1 nobody knew what the show was and so they weren’t waiting for it.
“But at the same time, you’re always looking to sort of fine-tune the process and take what works and leave what doesn’t work and streamline things. So, my hope is that if there is a Season 3, it’s going to be sooner.”
In the meantime, read more about why Mark made that heartbreaking decision with Gemma and Helly, the Eagan family tree, and the Lexington Letter.
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