Why Ben Stiller Made Severance (and Doesn’t Care about What Elon Says About Him)

On with Kara Swisher

New York Magazine

News Commentary, News, Society & Culture

4.2 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 3 February 2025

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ben Stiller knew he needed to make Severance the moment he read an early version of the show in a writing sample its creator, Dan Erickson, submitted to his production company. Now, years later, Severance is a hit, reportedly generating $200 million for Apple TV, and Stiller is the series’ executive producer and go-to director responsible for some of its most pivotal episodes. Kara talks to Stiller about the most poignant themes of the show, from its commentary on surveillance and technology to its meditations on trauma and identity. Plus, they chat politics — including Stiller’s reaction to an angry post about him by Elon Musk and his view on making political art now. Questions? Comments? Email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram and TikTok @onwithkaraswisher Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The M7 is a little, it picks up noise, it's a much better mic.
0:04.4	Okay, how's that?
0:05.3	Yeah, that's good.
0:06.3	You're very manly.
0:07.1	It's great.
0:07.6	Okay, good.
0:08.3	Good.
0:25.2	Hi, everyone from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
0:27.6	This is On with Caro Swisher, and I'm Caro Swisher.
0:34.8	Today I'm talking to actor, director, and producer Ben Stiller, someone I've gotten to known over the past few years and really enjoy talking to.
0:38.7	I really enjoy the second season of his hit series Severance,
0:41.3	and it's finally arrived after almost three years.
0:45.3	I like the first season, but the second season has really taken it to a new level.
0:48.9	This is Apple TV's dystopian workplace comedy thriller about a company that's taken work-life balance to the extreme.
0:52.7	In the world of Severance, employees at the company
0:54.8	called Lumen can choose to sever their brains into two cells, one for work and one for living.
1:00.4	When they clock in at 9 a.m., their brain is wiped clean of the outside world, and when they
1:04.5	clock out at 5 p.m., it's wiped clean of work. I just love this show. I can't explain why. You have to watch it. It's about a lot of things
1:12.4	that are going on today, but it's a lot of things that have gone on for a while, and it's about who you
1:16.1	are in the unconscious. It's also very, very funny, which is the best part of it. Ben is the show's
1:22.4	executive producer, and he's directed many of the episodes, so we're going to get into the themes, big ideas, and creative choices that have gone into the series, which is written by a man named Dan Erickson.
1:31.8	It's his first outing, and what an impressive outing it is.
	...

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