deadline Apple currently owns “the intellectual property and all rights” to Severance, and reports that future plans could include more than four seasons. Here are the details:
Severance is now part of Apple Studios
According to the report, Apple paid “just under $70 million” to acquire the IP and all rights to Severance, effectively bringing the series in-house at Apple Studios.
Previously, the show was produced by Fifth Season and distributed by Apple. Apple Studios will now produce its own series, and will remain as executive producer of the fifth season alongside show creator Dan Erickson.
One of the reasons behind the deal was the financial burden of Season 5, as production costs ballooned in Season 2 and the studio faced delays in paying tax credits.
Here it is deadline:
In New York, severance pay is provided, and although payments are delayed, they are tax deductible. While costs rose and Season 2 aired longer, interest rates rose from 1% to 5.5% to 6%, making borrowing more expensive and difficult to cover for up to 36 months (the difference between Seasons 1 and 2), especially if tax refunds weren’t fast enough.
The report states that Fifth Season “asked Apple TV for upfront and payment assistance and considered moving the show from New York to Canada for a larger and faster tax refund,” and that Apple TV executives “felt that from a financial perspective, the burden would be more bearable if the streamer owned the show.”
Expanding the cutting universe
According to deadlineSevilance is currently scheduled for four seasons, but Ben Stiller and Dan Erickson are “open to the idea of doing more with the Sevilance universe. Possibilities include prequels, spin-offs, and international versions.”
this, deadline According to the notes, it could help maintain fan interest during the long break between seasons and boost the show’s overall revenue. Season 2 had nearly twice as many viewers as Season 1, but cost an astounding $20 million per episode.
With full control over the show, Apple will have the opportunity to not only balance show growth and costs, but also recalibrate business aspects of the series, such as talent compensation and back-end contracts.
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In 2024, Apple TV became the first streamer to introduce a new performance-based compensation model for talent on shows produced by Apple Studios. This includes bonuses based on the number of people who sign up to watch Apple TV and a point system based on viewership and cost. This arrangement, versions of which have since been adopted by most other major streamers, introduces a “more risk, more reward” approach similar to the old broadcast syndication model.
Finally, the report notes that while most of the scripts for season 3 are locked, the development process is taking longer than originally planned. This means that while Apple still hopes to begin filming Season 3 in the summer, “the targeted start of filming will likely need to be pushed back several more weeks.”
If you are interested in the basics of television production, deadline‘s report is a deeper dive into the business side of Severance and Apple’s overall TV efforts and is well worth a read.
Apple TV is available for $12.99 per month and includes popular TV shows and movies like F1 The Movie, Pluribus, Severance, The Studio, The Morning Show, Shrinking, Silo, and more.
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