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We’re all excitedly back to the office now that the Apple TV+ hit workplace thriller Severance has returned for its second season, placing its main players—Adam Scott as ‘Mark Scout,’ Patricia Arquette as ‘Harmony Cobel,’ Britt Lower as ‘Helly Riggs,’ John Turturro as ‘Irving Bailiff,’ Zach Cherry as ‘Dylan George,’ Tramell Tillman as ‘Seth Milchick’ and Christopher Walken as ‘Burt Goodman’—back at Lumon Industries, the secretive company that divides employees’ work and personal memories through the surgical severance procedure, separating people into their “innie” and their “outie” personas.
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In the first season, Mark S. and his team, the Macrodata Refinement Department (MDR) —Helly R., Irving B., Dylan G.—slowly unravel as they attempt to solve the mystery of what Lumon Industries actually does and end the torture they’re undergoing. In season 2, Mark and his friends learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe, according to the show’s notes.
Severance, which airs on Thursday nights through March 21, has been lauded for its strong visual language, from small details that hold meaning to the often stark settings its characters are placed in. I’ll never forget the goat moment in season 1 or the pure corporate hellscape of Lumon’s liminal hallways.
And if the show feels familiar at times, don’t just blame your years in corporate America. Both seasons were actually filmed locally in the greater New York area, including in Kingston, Beacon, Hudson, Ossining, Utica, Nyack, Long Island, Brooklyn and Palisades Interstate Park, according to the show’s production notes. It turns out that the town of Kier, PE is heavily New York-based.
“The challenge is making a show where it's basically in a room that has no windows and just a bunch of hallways,” director and executive producer Ben Stiller said in the show notes. “Though [in season 2], we definitely got outside more and we also moved the camera a lot more, especially in these environments where you wouldn't have necessarily seen that.
“The world in season one was so contained and it was almost always on the Severed Floor,” Stiller continued. “But the reality is there are a lot of other departments that have never been explored and as we discover other floors, then there's also the outside world. So, there were a lot of spaces to explore that we didn't in the first season, and it was fun figuring out how to expand that universe while still keeping it specific to the reality of the show as much as we could.”
Where did they film Severance season 2?
Below are 10 locations Severance filmed at in New York and New Jersey in season 1 and 2, according to the show notes, atlasofwonders.com and IMDB. Note: Spoilers lay ahead.
Lumon Industries: Bell Works in Holmdel, New Jersey
The show reportedly spent $24 million filming its new season in New Jersey over the course of three years, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority told NJ Advance Media. Part of this was to film inside the former home of Bell Labs, which acted as a massive incubator for the Bell Telephone company, as well as the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) and Alcatel-Lucent later on. The building itself, designed by Architect Eero Saarinen, spans 2 million square feet and boasts a gorgeous glass facade and atrium that first opened in 1962. Since 2015, it’s been a mixed-use space called Bell Works with stores, restaurants and offices. When the show has the wide shots of the interior, you can see that it’s really a breathtaking space.
Devon and Ricken’s home: The Bier House in Thornwood near Pleasantville, New York
Toward the end of season 1 and beginning of season 2, we spend more time at outie Mark’s sister’s house as things … get intense. The gorgeous Mid-Century Modern house with incredible wooden accents is actually The Bier House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s student Kaneji Domoto. It sits within the Usonia National Historic District, which was created for Wright-designed homes. According to Hyperallergic, the home is Domoto’s first and largest Usonian house at 1,800 square feet. It was built in 1949 and set into a sloping site. It features similar features to Wright’s “Fallingwater,” including a spacious living room with a large fireplace and open ceilings with skylights.
Mark’s neighborhood, Baird Creek Manor: The Village Gate Townhouses in Nyack, New York
Mark’s outie lives in a pretty sterile and empty housing development that he says “never filled up.” According to Lohud, the actual neighborhood is called the Village Gate townhouses, where the latest for sale prices were under $700,000 for a two- to three-bedroom space.
This is just one of several spots in Nyack that Severance filmed at. Its mayor Don Hammond told Lohud that filming there is cyclical with the village now on an upswing. "We have an amazing downtown and it's great to be able to show it off," he told the outlet.
Pip's Bar and Grille: Phoenicia Diner in Phoenicia, New York (Catskills)
Pip’s Bar and Grille plays a pretty decent part in Severance. In the first episode of season 1, it’s where outie Mark meets Petey, a former Lumon employee that has been “reintegrated,” and in season 2, it’s where he meets his sister Devon. Pip’s is actually the very popular and retro Phoenicia Diner. According to Eater, the fictional restaurant takes its name from Phillip “Pip” Eagan, but also is a play on performance improvement plans (or PIPS) given at the workplace.
The diner’s director of operations Courtney Malsatzki told Eater that Stiller and his production team spent a few hours mapping out scenes and it was a relief when the episode finally aired. “Not only was it cool to see how they made it look and see somewhere you love on the big TV, it was also like, ‘Okay, everybody knows. Thank god,’” Malsatzki told them.
Mark’s dinner date with Alexa: The Hudson House in Nyack, New York
The awkward-as-hell date outie Mark goes on with Alexa, his sister’s doula, happens at an otherwise very romantic setting. The Hudson House is situated in the town’s former village hall and jailhouse and serves contemporary American cuisine in an upscale environment. According to its website, co-owner and baker Matt Hudson’s desserts are renowned in the tri-county area, specifically his Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie and his Butterscotch Pudding! A trip is in order!
The Town of Kier: Downtown Beacon, New York
This beloved upstate town was the basis for downtown Kier—many storefronts were gussied up to look slightly different and the Beacon Building on Main Street is used as the Hall of Records where outie Mark has a run in with anti-Severance activists.
The Town of Kier: Kingston, New York
Kingston also features heavily throughout the show. For example, the town’s Rondout Train Trestle over Rondout Creek and the Kingston–Port Ewen Suspension Bridge are also featured as is Cornell Park and the Waterfront at the Strand—Irving’s apartment. The Great Doors factory, where outie Dylan interviews for a job, is actually Kingston’s Red Owl Collective in the Midtown Arts District.
The Perpetuity Wing: Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, New York
When MDR goes to the Perpetuity Wing on a field trip, we’re shown a life-sized replica of Eagan’s house. Lohud says that it was just too big of a structure to build within the film studios, so they filmed at the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, which regularly hosts art exhibits and contains a planetarium and the 1877 Gilded Age Glenview House—the Eagan house.
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The church where Petey’s funeral is held: Trinity Lutheran Church in White Plains, New York
Petey’s funeral in episode four, "The You You Are," is a major turning point for outie Mark’s awakening. The service takes place inside White Plains’ gorgeous mid-century Trinity Lutheran Church.
The Damona birthing retreat: Mohonk Preserve Testimonial Gateway in New Paltz, New York
In episode 5, “The Grim Barbarity of Optics and Design,” Devon is in labor at a birthing retreat consisting of rustic and luxurious cabins on a lake. According to the Severance Wiki, “Damona” means “divine cow!”
Here, Devon also comes upon a mother who has been severed.
The entrance to these cabins is actually part of the Mohonk Preserve—it’s a historic archway at a trailhead. It also appeared in the 1985 cult horror movie The Stuff, according to Atlas Obscura.
Mammalian's Nurturable room: Marine Park Golf Course in Brooklyn
The goat scene in season 2 took a lot of work. The showrunners built a tent on the Marine Park Golf Course and used CGI to render the walls and ceiling later, according to Vulture. They really committed to serving Mid-Century vibes: the 18-hole championship course, which is open to the public year-round, was designed in 1964 by world-renowned architect, Robert Trent Jones Sr.
Prop Master Cat Miller said in the notes that the goats were real. “The minute they came in, they started bucking and frolicking and cavorting around,” she said. “All the grass was real and everything was organic. They had a great time. They were lovely, super intelligent animals who loved nibbling on our walkies and shoe laces.”
Other places Severence was filmed:
Wurts Street Bridge in Ulster County; the Gulf Gas Station at the corner of Route 9W and Christian Herald Road in Nyack; Two Villains Brewing microbrewery in Nyack; and Pietro Drive neighborhood in Yonkers. Mark also meets Petey at the old Sprainbrook Nursery, a shuttered garden center at 448 Underhill Road in Scarsdale.
Stiller promises season 2 will be worth the years-long wait.
“I’m excited for the fans who have stuck with the show and have waited a long time for the second season to see what I hope they will feel is a satisfying season,” he said. “We didn't want to do the same thing that we did in the first season. It has a lot of new things in it—new ideas, characters, and environments. I thought it was important to take some chances and surprise the audience that's been so loyal to the show and take them somewhere new and exciting.”