The Innies and Outies welcome newcomers to Season 2 of Severance, the Apple TV Plus psycho-thriller series that brings several new cast members, including a "Game of Thrones" alum and an Emmy Award winner, to the madness that ensues

Severance is from creator/writer Dan Erickson and director/executive producer Ben Stiller The story follows several employees of Lumon Industries, a biotechnology company that pioneered the medical procedure known as "amputation"

The employees who undergo the procedure separate their memories of work from their non-work memories, creating an "Innie" version that exists only at the company; the "Outie" version leads a private life with no recollection of work at all; the "Outie" version is a "workaholic," a "workaholic," a "workaholic," a "workaholic It is the ultimate, extremely cold-hearted implementation of work-life balance

Mark (Scott) heads a disconnected macro data refining department He and his colleagues Dylan (Zach Cherry) and Irving (John Turturro) welcome a new team member, Helly (Britt Lower) Her arrival leads Mark and his team to explore the many mysteries of Lumon Season 1 ends with a big cliffhanger after Inny and his team find a way to get into Outi and discover the shocking truth about their true identities But now that the prison break is over, what will Innie and her friends do next?

Here's what we know so far about Season 2 of Severance

Apple TV Plus has not yet set a date for Severance Season 2

The streaming service announced a Season 2 renewal on April 6, two days before the Season 1 finale; the September 2022 iPhone 14 event did not yield news of a release date, but Apple events have Severance Easter eggs, us to ask if there is any significance to the upcoming season

In a statement, Matt Charnis, head of programming for Apple TV Plus, said, "Thanks to creator Dan Erickson, the brilliant Ben Stiller, and an unparalleled cast and crew, Severance is a show that viewers around the world cannot get enough of these rich characters As if they couldn't, riveting and enthralling parts of the show have imagined an equal presence We are excited to delve deeper into this totally unique world in Season 2 and reveal even more of Lumon's layers"

Regarding the release date for Season 2 of "Severance," Ben Stiller told Rolling Stone magazine (opens in new tab), "The hope is to get into production by the end of the year" When asked if the show might return in 2023, he said, "Possibly, probably, yeah"

Filming for Season 1 lasted about six months, and the premiere took place eight months later If Season 2 follows a similar course, expect "Severance" Season 2 to return in late 2023 If you can't wait until then, we've compiled a list of the best shows you can stream while waiting for Season 2 of Severance

"Severance" Season 2 is expected to bring back the entire main cast, led by Adam Scott as Mark Scout Colleagues from his Macrodata Refinement department should also be returning: Brit Lower as Helly R, Zach Cherry as Dylan G, and John Turturro as Irving B:

Patricia Arquette as Harmony Corbell

Tramel Tillman: as Seth Milcic, floor manager of the disconnected floor

Christopher Walken as Burt Goodman

Dichen Lachman: Ms Casey, former health counselor on the disconnected floor

Sidney Cole Alexander as Natalie, liaison to the Lumon Board

Michael Sibley as James Egan, current CEO of Lumon Industries

There are also important characters present "outside":

Jen Tullock as Devon, Mark's sister and new mother

Michael Charnas as Devon's husband, writer Ricken Hale

Ethan Flower as Angelo Arteta, a senator who supports the spread of retirement benefits

Nora Dale as Gabby Arteta: Angelo's wife and new mom

Nikki M James as Alexa, Devon's midwife and Mark's fling

"Severance" Season 2 will also feature new faces; according to The Hollywood Reporter, the new cast includes Gwendoline Christie ("Game of Thrones," "The Sandman"), Merritt Weber ("Nurse Jackie," Unbelievable"), Alia Shawkat ("Arrested Development," "Search Party") and Bob Balaban ("The French Dispatch") No further details about the characters have been revealed

Before we dive into theories about the season, let's unpack that ridiculous "Severance" Season 1 ending

The finale begins with Dylan completing the overtime contingency process and Mark, Helly, and Irving's innies awakening in Outie's body Each of them scrambles to figure out their situation Mark finds himself face-to-face with his boss, Harmony Corbell, Irving paints a dark hallway, and Helly attends the Lemont celebration because she is actually Helena Egan

In Mark's story, he quickly avoids Covell and learns that Devon is his sister After Ricken performs a reading from his book, he accidentally informs Korbell that he is Inny While he is talking with Devon about his severance package, Covell goes to Lumon's office in tears She plans to call Milchick and get him to stop Dylan while she heads to Helly's

In Helly's story, she is astonished to see a positive display of her amputation experience at the gala As Helena, she is to give a speech and uses the opportunity to condemn the amputation: "We are not happy, we are miserable We are not happy

In Irving's story, he finds a newspaper clipping about a former Lumon employee suing the company and a list of the employee's home addresses He spots his girlfriend, Burt, and drives to his house But he hesitates when he sees Bert with another man

The three innies are in crisis when Milhick bursts into the security room to challenge Dylan Helly is kicked off stage, Irving knocks on Bart's door, and Mark discovers that his wife Gemma is the same Gemma, the wellness counselor who was fired And Mark discovers that his wife Gemma is the same person as Gemma, the counselor who was fired"

Will Season 2 begin at that very moment? That seems likely, but Severance likes to toy with expectations

Helena will no doubt have to deal with the repercussions of Helly declaring the amputation a "lie" to a large crowd, including her father Mark, on the other hand, has just told his sister that Lumon should be investigated The stage is set for the public to question what Lumon is doing and whether retirement should be outlawed

The fact that Outie Irving is now in Bart's house should lead to some interesting and very thought provoking exchanges If Bert had retired, he would not remember Irving, and vice versa However, Irving's manic depiction of the dark corridors of Lumon indicates that Inny's memories are still out there Emotions may also transcend disconnection

As for Mark, his Inny knows that his dead wife Gemma and Ms Casey may be the same person However, that revelation would be complicated by the kiss he shared with Helly

"By putting Inny Mark in this position," Stiller told Variety (open in new tab), "we begin to root for him and Helly, but now we also want to root for outtie Mark to find his wife" It is an interesting juxtaposition and conflict that we will explore in the second season"