Ben Stiller and the cast of “Severance” took over Grand Central Station Tuesday with a pop-up of the offices from the dystopian thriller.
The director, 59, filmed the glass cubicles as stars Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry and Tramell Tillman appeared in character to promote the second season of the Emmy-winning Apple TV+ series, which premieres Friday.
In one clip posted by Stiller, a fan can be heard praising him for his work in “Zoolander,” while Scott silently cleans his faux office space before a captivated crowd.
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) January 15, 2025
“Severance” stars Scott as Mark, who along with his colleagues has had his personal and professional memories surgically divided.
Grand Central right now. #Severance pic.twitter.com/VBcFzi4Bh3
— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) January 14, 2025
The series is rounded out by the starry supporting cast that includes Christopher Walken, John Turturro, and Patricia Arquette, who worked with Stiller on 2018’s “Escape at Dannemora.”
The first season nabbed two Emmys, for music and title design, as well as a dozen other nominations in the Drama Series categories, including Outstanding Casting, Outstanding Lead Actor (Scott), Outstanding Directing (Stiller) and Outstanding Drama Series.
The first season holds a 97% critical approval rating and 88% audience approval on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The critics consensus hailing “Severance” as “audacious, mysterious and bringing fresh insight into the perils of corporate drudgery.”
At the time of publication, the sophomore season holds a 94% critical approval rating.
Though Rolling Stone enjoyed this new installment, it signaled to the “storytelling hiccups here and there.” The New Yorker meanwhile bemoaned the “mere archetypes” now occupying the screen time.
While noting the “out of whack” amount of plot devices this go-round, RogerEbert.com said the second season “too often” left its critic wondering “why I should care — a feeling I never had in season one.”