Saw it being described as Black Mirror meets the Office. I think it leans more closely to Black Mirror, because the humor is quite subdued.
The cast is great, the premise works surprisingly well (doesn't make it hard to suspend disbelief) and stylistically it's a weird but effective blend of contemporary and retro modernism.
Ben Stiller produces and directs a few of the episodes. I'm going to keep an eye on whatever future stuff he's working on, because between Escape at Dannemora he's making some very good television.
___________________ "So this is what everybody's always talking about! Diablo! If only I'd known. The beauty! The beauty!"
I agree it's gotta be something sinister, but every time the veil gets lifted a tiny bit, it just reveals something even weirder than what you know. I kind of feel like I'm stumbling around in the dark, just like the protagonists, and I think that works very well for this show.
___________________ "So this is what everybody's always talking about! Diablo! If only I'd known. The beauty! The beauty!"
2. "Absolutely fantastic " In response to Reply # 0
Love it. Gripping. Definitely feel like there's something very sinister (and perhaps even Satanic/cult-ish) going on behind the scenes. So stoked to learn this is getting a second season!
3. "I was about to make this post" In response to Reply # 0
So I was glad to see your post today. I'm loving the show so far. I really like the humor of the show with it's quirky writing which has really good contrast between the office scenes and the outside world scenes. I also really like the pacing and how the mystery of it all has been unraveling. It feels like the mystery elements will get paid off and that it's not just mystery boxing us, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. It's also got some backrooms found footage vibes with the set design which looks super creepy.
8. "One of the best shows in recent years" In response to Reply # 0
It's next level good IMO. The acting. The set design. The cinematography. All amazing. The ensemble cast is excellent. John Turturro is putting on a masterclass in acting. Zach Cherry and Tramell Tillman are a revelation.
I'm invested in these characters like a MFer. That's my crew. I root hard for them. And Dylan G? The MFin' MVP!
11. "RE: One of the best shows in recent years" In response to Reply # 8
>It's next level good IMO. The acting. The set design. The >cinematography. All amazing. The ensemble cast is excellent. >John Turturro is putting on a masterclass in acting. Zach >Cherry and Tramell Tillman are a revelation. > >I'm invested in these characters like a MFer. That's my crew. >I root hard for them. And Dylan G? The MFin' MVP! > >Can't wait until Season 2.
I started watching this series partially based on comments from colleagues, and your comments. I'm definitely glad I did. Binged watched the season. I'm excited to see where they take this for Season 2 !Thanks !
15. "I wish DVDs/Blu-Rays were still fairly popular" In response to Reply # 8
>It's next level good IMO. The acting. The set design. The >cinematography. All amazing. The ensemble cast is excellent. >John Turturro is putting on a masterclass in acting. Zach >Cherry and Tramell Tillman are a revelation. > >I'm invested in these characters like a MFer. That's my crew. >I root hard for them. And Dylan G? The MFin' MVP! > >Can't wait until Season 2.
because I'd love to watch some behind the scenes footage and listen to commentary for the show from the folks involved in making it. The set designs and camera work were master class level. Walking around the office felt like being in a big budget movie set given how orderly and precise everything was.
"Sean sparks like John Starks, nah, Sean ball like John Wall" - Rest In Power Forever Sean Price.
12. "top notch execution all across the board" In response to Reply # 0
The only slight nitpick is storywise in regards to how involved Patricia Arquette's character is with the main character's home life, but I'm more than willing to overlook that given that everything else is done so well. Top notch job by Ben Stiller to infuse humor into this show since it's fairly dark.
I wonder how many seasons this show will last for. Part of me wants this to last three seasons tops so that the storylines remain plausible. Anything longer and I fear the show will get a bit too implausible or got too far into it's own ass.
"Sean sparks like John Starks, nah, Sean ball like John Wall" - Rest In Power Forever Sean Price.
Yoooo, I didn't really pay attention to the storyline with the sister but reading this blew my mind. Did you all catch all of this when watching the show?
20. "I kept wondering what is the most practical use of Severance" In response to Reply # 19
Yeah keeping confidential work secret sure but that alone doesn't seem that interesting.
But what I do think is really interesting is the idea that of "enslaving" your innie to do dark, traumatic work and experiences so that your outtie can live pain, trauma free?
I was wondering where next season to go but they've laid the groundwork for a lot of different stories.
********** "Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson
21. "Spoiler with a possibly incorrect assumption" In response to Reply # 19
SPOILER SPACE
Since like you said the Senator was in on the Severance presentation and the purpose of the presentation is to make Severance legal, I'm going on the assumption that there's a plan to use Severance for military purposes as that would make it far easier to indoctrinate folks to do whatever the government would want them to do.
Of course, that doesn't explain everything Lumon does. I'm mainly thinking about that baby goat scene.
"Sean sparks like John Starks, nah, Sean ball like John Wall" - Rest In Power Forever Sean Price.
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