★★★★½ 4.5/5
spoiler-free

A slow-burn workplace thriller with a finale that changes everything.

Severance takes a simple premise and mines it for every ounce of tension and meaning. The idea of surgically separating your work and personal memories sounds like a convenience. The show methodically reveals it as a horror.

The production design deserves special mention. Lumon Industries feels like a place out of time, all endless corridors and fluorescent-lit cubicles that could exist in any decade. It’s unsettling without being overtly sinister, which makes the sinister parts land harder.

Adam Scott anchors the show with a performance that requires him to essentially play two different people, and he makes you care about both of them. By the time the season finale rolls around, you’re watching through your fingers.