‘Severance’ Season 3 Is Coming, but Ben Stiller Won’t Be Directing

When audiences return to Lumon Industries sometime in the near future, it will be without a major component. Ben Stiller, one of the producers and directors of the hit Apple TV+ show Severance, will not be directing any episodes in season three.

“I’m at the point in my life where I’m like, ‘The clock is ticking,’” Stiller told the Los Angeles Times. He’s currently getting ready to star in Focker-In-Law, the latest Meet the Parents movie, and is prepping his next feature film, a World War II survival film that tells “the true story of a downed airman in occupied France and how he got involved with the French Resistance.” Because of those two things, he’s decided there won’t be time to direct any of season three. “These things take time to come together,” Stiller said, “and the older you get, the more you realize that you only have so much time.”

But that’s not to say he won’t be involved. Stiller, showrunner Dan Erickson, and the Severance writers “have been spending much of the year planning season three so that Stiller can step away and direct this feature film,” according to the paper. Also, this does suggest that filming on season three will be happening sooner rather than later, which is a good thing. So the season will have Stiller’s fingerprints on it. He’s still a producer. Just not a director.

However, that’s a bigger deal than you may realize. Stiller’s direction is a key part of what makes Severance “Severance.” He directed six of season one’s nine episodes—the first three and the last three—and then did half of season two’s 10 episodes, including the finale and the memorable “Woe’s Hollow.” What season two did even more than season one, though, was showcase incredibly talented new directors who are surely going to step in and fill Stiller’s shoes. Key among those would be Jessica Lee Gagné, the cinematographer turned director who did season two’s unforgettable, twisty-turny “Chikhai Bardo.” We’re only speculating that she’d return, but come on. She’d better.

No one has done close to as many episodes as Stiller, of course, but others have done multiples. Sam Donovan and Uta Briesewitz each did two episodes of season two, and Aoife McArdle did the three episodes of season one that Stiller didn’t. So, clearly, Stiller is leaving the show in very capable hands and has made his mark on what’s being written and prepped. He just won’t be on set.

Does a non-Ben Stiller-directed season of Severance worry you? Let us know below.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.