Severance season 2 on Apple TV Plus plagued by problems with key people 'hating each other'

A shot from Severance, the Apple TV Plus sci-fi thriller
(Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

The hit Apple TV Plus show Severance is in the middle of filming its hotly anticipated second season but those of us who are waiting for it might have to wait a little longer than we had hoped following reports of problems during filming.

Those problems, we're told, include the season being plagued by things like showrunners Dan Erickson and Mark Friedman not being on the best of terms.

And that, frankly, might be putting things mildly.

'The dreaded showrunners'

While filming for Severance season 2 started last year and we even saw a teaser following the iPhone 14 launch, industry watchers at Puck News (opens in new tab) report that the show faces significant delays because Erickson and Friedman hate each other.

Is hate a strong word? Maybe not.

The report claims that Severance "has been plagued for months by pricey problems, including scrapped scripts and the dreaded showrunners who don’t speak to each other." It goes on to say that the pair "ended up hating each other" during the first season and while Freidman tried to ditch the show he was convinced to hang around for the second season. That doesn't seem to have gone well.

Director Ben Stiller reportedly tried to find a replacement for Friedman but couldn't come up with someone he liked. But with Friedman back on board and things going sideways House of Cards creator Beau Willimon has been brought on to help with seasons three and four. Assuming we ever get that far.

Money could prove to be an issue as well, with each episode of season two now thought to be costing around $20 million to create. That might not concern Apple too much, but the delays might — Severance has proven a hit both with viewers and those nominating shows for awards, so a second season can't come soon enough.

Once it does arrive Severance season two will be available on Apple TV Plus via just about anything with an internet connection and a display. That includes Apple's own hardware but there are plenty of Apple TV alternatives for those who don't want to spend Apple TV 4K money.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.