EXCLUSIVE: Apple TV+ pulled all the stops promoting the second season of its sci-fi drama Severance, with even Apple CEO Tim Cook filming an elaborate promo for the series’ return after a three-year break. A month after Severance‘s Jan. 17 Season 2 launch, the tech company, known for closely guarding its viewership data, is raising the curtain just a bit on the series’ performance.
According to the streamer, Severance has broken Apple TV+ records, launching as the platform’s #1 series in history based on number of unique viewers from Jan. 17 through Feb. 17, 2025.
We have the first independent viewership data for Severance‘s performance since the Season 2 premiere too. The series claimed the #4 spot on Nielsen’s Top 10 Originals chart for the week of Jan. 13, which includes the first three days of the Season 2 debut being available on the service. Severance logged impressive 589 million minutes viewed in the U.S. over all existing episodes, 28% of them spent on the Season 2 opener, with the numbers expected to climb as the season progresses. (New episodes of the drama, from creator/exec producer Dan Erickson and director/exec producer Ben Stiller, drop weekly.)
Severance‘s return also has been a major driver of sign-ups, fueling a +126% increase in new subscribers between Jan. 1-19, 2025 vs. Dec. 1-19, 2024. That includes Apple TV+’s Jan. 3-5 free weekend where non-subscribers were able to sample the streamer’s originals, timed to the Severance S2 debut.
According to Apple, through Season 1 and half of Season 2, Severance already has amassed more viewers than any other Apple TV+ series, including three seasons of Ted Lasso, becoming the #1 most-watched series globally on Apple TV+, with top markets including the US, UK, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Germany, France, Mexico and Spain.
“We have long admired Ben’s extraordinary gift for original and immersive storytelling, and with he and Dan at the helm, Severance has proven to be an extraordinary success and a cultural phenomenon,” said Matt Cherniss, head of programming, Apple TV+. “The series has become an obsession for audiences all over the world and we can’t wait for people to continue to experience all the masterful twists and turns as the rest of the season unfolds.”
While it’s believed to be at the high end of drama TV series, with Season 2 budget rumored to have gone up to as much as $20M an episode, the Fifth Season-produced Severance has been a strong value proposition for Apple. As Deadline reported last month, research from Parrot Analytics found that the series’ first season generated more than $200M for the tech giant.
Along with viewership and subscriptions, Severance also has been driving conversation with an outsides pop culture footprint.
The series follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott), an employee of the fictional corporation Lumon Industries who agrees to a “severance” program in which his non-work memories are separated from his work memories.
In addition to Scott, Season 2 cast also includes Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, Christopher Walken, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Sydney Cole Alexander, Sarah Bock, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Karen Aldridge, Merritt Wever, Claudia Robinson, Gwendoline Christie, Alia Shawkat, Stefano Carannante, Bob Babalan, John Noble and Robby Benson.
