Ben Stiller and Apple TV’s Eddy Cue Discuss Why ‘Severance’ Stands Out in Today’s Crowded Entertainment World

At a panel discussion during SXSW in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, Ben Stiller and Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, shared insights about their collaboration on the hit show Severance. The event, held as the series nears its Season 2 finale on March 21, explored how Apple TV+ has grown and why Severance stands out in today’s crowded entertainment world.

Stiller, who directs and executive produces the surreal workplace drama, remembered the early days of pitching the show to Apple. “When we first sold the show to Apple TV+,” he said, “I said, ‘What’s Apple TV+?’, because you guys didn’t exist yet, you were just starting out, and it almost didn’t seem real.”

At the time, Apple TV+ was a new player, and Stiller wasn’t sure what to expect. But the risk paid off. “We said, ‘Okay, let’s pitch to them.’ And it’s become this amazing creative relationship,” he added.

Now, with Severance gaining a huge following, Stiller sees it as a perfect match for Apple. “It’s funny because people talk about, ‘Oh, wow, you know, Apple is a huge corporation, and Lumon is a huge corporation.’ And, you know, so, I always felt like, yeah, this is actually the perfect show to be on Apple, because there’s something in the esthetic, there’s something in the ideas of what’s going on,” he joked.

Cue, a 36-year veteran at Apple, explained why the company doesn’t churn out as many shows as its rivals. “When you do something that’s great, it should resonate with a lot of people — and hopefully everyone. And so when we think about our shows and we think about our products, we’re not designing them for a small subset of people. We design them for everyone. We realize we may not get everyone to watch or everyone to use our products, but we think of them in that way,” he said.

This focus on quality over quantity shapes Apple TV+’s strategy. “Part of what we’ve said is we’re betting everything on the shows that we’re doing, because we’re not going to throw 20 shows up against the wall and hope that one sticks. The ones that we do, they all need to stick, otherwise we have nothing else,” Cue added. He believes this pressure pushes them to excel.

Severance, created by Dan Erickson, follows Mark Scout, played by Adam Scott, a worker at Lumon Industries. The company uses a unique process called severance, splitting employees’ minds into “innies” who only know their work life and “outies” who live outside the office with no memory of it.

Season 2 dives into Mark’s struggle to blend these two selves through a secret procedure, while the mystery of Lumon’s true purpose keeps viewers hooked. The cast also includes Britt Lower, John Turturro, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillmann, Christopher Walken, Patricia Arquette, and Dichen Lachman.

Cue praised the show’s impact. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a show like this, where it’s captured so many people’s imagination and the culture and the audience,” he said.

He noted how fans eagerly await each episode, much like TV shows from decades past. “This reminds me of shows back in the days when television — you tune in on a particular night and everybody was so excited all week to get to the next episode. And that’s what this is like.”

Stiller agreed, pointing out the challenge of standing out today. “In this day and age, it’s so hard to have something that breaks through, and that you can actually get people to watch and to see, because there’s so much,” he said.

During the 42-minute talk, titled “Moving Culture Through Innovation and Creativity,” the pair also shared a playful exchange about Apple’s success. Stiller asked, “How is Apple doing? Because sometimes I worry. You guys doing okay?” Cue replied, “It’s a competitive world, which is great, but we’re doing all right. We’re OK. We’re, like you, trying to try to be our best and create new things that people really love.”

Stiller pressed further, “You guys are in the black?” Cue shot back, “If you keep doing this as well as you’re doing, I think we’re gonna be okay.” Stiller even teased about going over budget on Severance, saying, “Okay, okay, good. Because sometimes when we, you know, we go over budget a little, they’ll say to me, like, ‘Come on, guys’ and then I start to worry for you guys.” Cue laughed, “I appreciate that.”

As for the Season 2 finale, Cue tried to get a hint from Stiller. After showing two short clips, Stiller stayed vague. “So, things are being figured out,” he said. “I don’t know what you can get from [those] scenes, but … things are going to happen.” He added, “I mean, what can I tell you? The season is going to end soon and hopefully people will be along for the ride.”

Cue, who has seen the full season, prefers watching week by week like fans. “It been amazing for me and Apple, and an incredible honor to work with you on this. We couldn’t be prouder,” he told Stiller. “Apple picks its projects very carefully.” With excitement, he said, “people can’t get enough” of the show.

The panel highlighted how Severance has sparked widespread discussion, from podcasts to YouTube, proving Apple’s bet on quality storytelling is paying off as the series wraps up its second season.

You can watch the whole show here:

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