Forget your outie, embrace your innie, as per Severance. Image: Apple TV.
Television workplaces were once an escape. If they weren’t full of crazy co-workers constantly bouncing jokes off each other, they were hotbeds of drama where teamwork was the name of the game. Idealised maybe; they were definitely the kinds of places you’d want to spend eight hours in – or just half an hour watching.
Part of what makes Severance so compelling is the sinister attractiveness of its central concept. Even within the series, the idea of being ‘severed’ – having an operation that divides your consciousness between your home and work lives, with no memories shared between them – is controversial.
Anthony Morris is a freelance film and television writer. He’s been a regular contributor to The Big Issue, Empire Magazine, Junkee, Broadsheet, The Wheeler Centre and Forte Magazine, where he’s currently the film editor. Other publications he’s contributed to include Vice, The Vine, Kill Your Darlings (where he was their online film columnist), The Lifted Brow, Urban Walkabout and Spook Magazine. He’s the co-author of hit romantic comedy novel The Hot Guy, and he’s also written some short stories he’d rather you didn’t mention. You can follow him on Twitter @morrbeat and read some of his reviews on the blog It’s Better in the Dark.
