Severance season 2 trailer and release date revealed: 5 details you might have missed

It’s been one of the most long-awaited returns to our TVs in recent times, but we’ve finally got a release date for season 2 of Apple TV+ smash hit Severance — and a trailer to go with it.

We’ll be back under the fluorescent strip lights of Lumon Industries on Friday 17th January 2025 — almost a full three years since the first series made its debut. Here’s a look at its brand new trailer:

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"In Severance, Mark Scout (Scott) leads a team at Lumon Industries, whose employees have undergone a severance procedure, which surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives," read’s Apple’s season 2 synopsis.

"This daring experiment in 'work-life balance’ is called into question as Mark finds himself at the centre of an unravelling mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his work… and of himself. In season 2, Mark and his friends learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe."

That… does not sound good. But it also doesn’t reveal a hell of a lot about what to expect from season 2. So, we’ve scoured the trailer for all the juiciest bits you might have missed — here’s five clues to what the hell is going on at Lumon.

1. A new Lumon crew?

The trailer sees Mark dazed and confused waking in the Lumon Industries elevator following the dramatic season 1 finale. There’s the suggestion however that he’s been gone for a while — “It’s been a minute” says supervisor Milchick.

But as Mark heads back to his office, he’s confronted with a whole new team of co-workers — cast newcomers Bob Balaban, Alia Shawkat and Stefano Carannante. What’s happened to Dylan, Helly and Irving? Has the rebellious team been split up?

2. Doppelganger replacements?

Though we don’t see much of the old Lumon team, most returning cast members are referenced in quick-fire cuts across the trailer.

This shot shows Zach Cherry’s Dylan George sat opposite what, at first glance, appears to be himself. But closer inspection reveals two separate actors. Is Lumon swapping out each worker with a doppelganger replacement?

3. A promotion for Cobel?

Patricia Arquette’s Harmony Cobel was an icy cool villain in season 1, who managed to snap victory from the jaws of defeat by uncovering the brewing mutiny in the Lumon ranks. She’s shown her briefly in what appears to be a boardroom — perhaps she’s climbing the corporate ladder as reward for her hard work? And perhaps we’ll see more of the secretive bigwigs who are running the show at Lumon.

4. Irving’s descent?

John Turturro’s Irving had a particularly rough time of things in season 1 one of Severance, with his mental health perhaps at the lowest ebb of all characters. References to his delicate state are referenced throughout the trailer — there’s this unnerving watermelon head, a shot of Irving’s outtie skulking around the real world, and the sketch of the mysterious ‘down’ elevator that Irving has clearly experienced. But why’s it seemingly being held by Milchick? There’s the suggestion that Irving knows too much about the inner workings of Lumon, and may be being punished as a result.

5. Where’s Ms. Casey?

The big season one reveal (SPOILER ALERT) that Mark’s ‘outtie’ had a relationship with Ms. Casey (or Gemma as her ‘outtie’ was known) was the jaw-drop moment of the final episode. She lives! And they know each other! So what cruel joke is being played to have their ‘innies’ working together, unaware of this fact?

The season 2 trailer shows a hand-drawn missing persons poster of Miss Casey being printed on a Lumon printer, perhaps suggesting Mark’s innie is going to inform the rest of the Lumon workplace of the subterfuge going on. But where’s Ms. Casey disappeared to, and why?

• The best Apple TV+ shows you really should be streaming. And, yes, Severance is in there!