Ben Stiller and Eddy Cue Discuss Apple TV+ Series 'Severance' at SXSW

At the annual SXSW film festival in Austin, Texas today, Apple's services chief Eddy Cue joined Ben Stiller on stage to discuss the hit Apple TV+ show Severance.

Severance 2025
Cue is a longtime Apple executive who oversees Apple TV+, and the company's other services, while Stiller serves as the director and an executive producer of Severance. In a session that ran for more than 40 minutes, the two discussed the critically-acclaimed series, with a few jokes about Apple and other comments mixed in.

Severance revolves around the mysterious company Lumon Industries. The company's employees cannot recall any memories about their personal lives while they are at work, and they cannot remember anything about the workplace when they leave the office. The show's second season is currently in progress, with eight episodes released so far.


Created by Dan Erickson, the sci-fi drama series has an ensemble cast that includes Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, John Turturro, Tramell Tillman, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Walken, and others. In the second season, the employees "learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe."

Severance has become the most-watched Apple TV+ series ever, according to Apple. A third season of the show is already in development.

In the U.S., Apple TV+ costs $9.99 per month. It is also included in all Apple One bundles.

Thanks, Shawn!

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
iPhone Car Key WWDC 2025

Apple Announces 13 Automakers Planning to Offer iPhone Car Keys

Friday June 27, 2025 11:42 am PDT by
In 2020, Apple added a digital car key feature to its Wallet app, allowing users to lock, unlock, and start a compatible vehicle with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The feature is currently offered by select automakers, including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and a handful of others, and it is set to expand further. During its WWDC 2025 keynote, Apple said that 13...
anker power bank recall

PSA: Anker Recalls Multiple Power Banks Due to Fire Risk

Friday June 27, 2025 4:16 pm PDT by
Popular accessory maker Anker this month launched two separate recalls for its power banks, some of which may be a fire risk. The first recall affects Anker PowerCore 10000 Power Banks sold between June 1, 2016 and December 31, 2022 in the United States. Anker says that these power banks have a "potential issue" with the battery inside, which can lead to overheating, melting of plastic...
Chase Sapphire Reserve Apple Perk Feature

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card Introduces New Perk for Apple Customers

Wednesday June 25, 2025 2:08 pm PDT by
Chase this week announced a series of new perks for its premium Sapphire Reserve credit card, and one of them is for a pair of Apple services. Specifically, the credit card now offers complimentary annual subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music, a value of up to $250 per year. If you are already paying for Apple TV+ and/or Apple Music directly through Apple, those subscriptions will...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in a Few Months With These 12 New Features

Thursday June 26, 2025 2:00 am PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
CarPlay Ultra Climate Controls

Here's Which Vehicle Brands Will and Won't Offer Apple's CarPlay Ultra

Friday June 27, 2025 9:52 am PDT by
Apple last month announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. There was news this week about which automakers will and won't offer CarPlay Ultra, and we have provided an updated list below. CarPlay Ultra is currently limited to newer Aston Martin vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. Fortunately, if you cannot...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Tuesday June 24, 2025 3:40 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...

Top Rated Comments

F23 Avatar
16 weeks ago
Hey Tim I’d love to watch a show about how the incredible Apple engineers took 4 years working tirelessly to only update the AirPods Max port from Lightning to USB C.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sw1tcher Avatar
16 weeks ago

200 million???? Game of Thrones season 1 are 50 to 60 million, apple needs some serious audit if that's true. I didn't see any scene from Severance that worth this huge amount of money.
You're comparing the budget of a series filmed in 2010 (season 1 of Game of Thrones ) with something filmed between 2022 to 2024?

The 6 episodes for season 8 of Game of Thrones reportedly cost $90 million ($15 million per episode) and that was filmed between 2017 and 2018.

Severance season 2 has 10 episodes. A $200 million budget means $20 million per episode.

Maybe you didn't hear, but there was a huge Hollywood strike where just about everyone got raises. Apple having to pay $5 million more per episode in 2022 - 2024 vs what HBO paid for season 8 of Game of Thrones from 2017 - 2018 shouldn't be a shock.

House of the Dragon cost just under $20 million per episode ('https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/house-of-the-dragon-budget-episode-cost-1235238285/') for season 1 (10 episodes total) which was filmed between 2021 and 2022.

If you think Apple paying $200 million for season 2 of Severance is expensive, let me tell you about Amazon and how they spent $465 million ('https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/lord-of-the-rings-amazon-cost-1234953345/') to film/produce season 1 (8 episodes) of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power ?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AlanBeyond Avatar
16 weeks ago

Season 2 had a $200,000,000.00 budget. Doesn't seem like a low budget number to me. And it is Apple TV+
shining star show.

Severance Season 2's $200M Budget Explained: Why It Cost So Much When It's... Set In An Office ('https://screenrant.com/severance-season-2-budget-episode-cost-explained/')
200 million???? Game of Thrones season 1 are 50 to 60 million, apple needs some serious audit if that's true. I didn't see any scene from Severance that worth this huge amount of money.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AlanBeyond Avatar
16 weeks ago
It is indeed a great show! Apple's by far the best show yet.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ikramerica Avatar
16 weeks ago
If they air another episode focused on Harmony I am done. I don’t watch the show for 45 minutes of Patricia Arquette being surly.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Greenmeenie Avatar
16 weeks ago
I hope Severance doesnt go past 3 seasons. Take a lesson from Ted Lasso. 3 season arc is perfect to wrap up a streaming series. I know Ted Lasso might come back for a 4th season... but thats just a rumor and if it happens it'll be 3 yrs since season 3 ended and the show will be more of a reset or new show with a new focus. Point is, less is more. Look what happened to Lost or The Walking Dead. Two appropriate names for what those shows became... LOST & DEAD SHOW WALKING ? People get bored of a show after a certain point. You want to leave them wanting more. Get out early & stay a classic forever instead of a show that overstayed it's welcome. ✌️
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)