on Severancethere are people who know and people who don’t. The ones with the answers and those who have questions. primary characters like Mark S.Helly R., Irving, and Dylan know nothing. They have questions. Behind the scenes, showrunner Dan Erickson is one of the men with the answers. And, in the world of the show, it’s characters like Mr. Milchick, played by Tramell Tillman, and Harmony Cobel, played by Patricia Arquette, who knew what was going on.

io9 sat down with two of Lumon’s finest to try and get some of the answers while also discussing their excitement for the second season. Read our full interview below.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Germain Lussier, io9: Your two characters know more than anyone else on the show, for the most part. Does that extend off-screen as well? Did Dan share with you more of what was going on or any little secrets?

Patricia Arquette: I don’t know that they actually gave us any more information than anybody else, but we were kind of indoctrinated into that power dynamic of authority and structure and all that. So I think we’re used to pretending everything’s okay or pretending things are a certain way, pretending there’s some kind of certainty. And also keeping secrets is an important part of it.

Tramell Tillman: I think this is a good example of how the character knows more than the actor. It’s wild.

io9: The wait is pretty wild too. I imagine, in your normal day-to-day life, you’ve had people come up to you in the last couple of years and say, “When Severance come back?” Do you have any funny stories?

Arquette: I just saw an increase in anger, basically.

io9: (Laughs) Yes.

Arquette: There is such a “When is it coming back?” They don’t even want to say “Hi” or anything. “Will it come back? What happened?” Believe me, it’s out of my hands. There is nothing you can do about it. But it came back and at one point, they told us on a date, but we are not allowed to talk about dates. So they’re like, “When is it coming back?” I said, “I can’t say anything.”

io9: yes. Well, finally, we got it. Now, at the beginning of season two each of your characters has a new place to start here, right? Can you tell me, in broad terms, a little bit about, your characters’ journeys this season?

Tillman: Well, the stakes are definitely up for Milchick. We pick up where we left off at the end of the first season, and he’s responsible for cleaning up the mess he made with the OTC (Overtime Contingency Protocol) and what happened at the gala, and then moving the ship forward as well. with higher winds, if you will.

io9: And for Harmony?

Arquette: Harmony, at the beginning of the season, has really lost his power in this dynamic that he grew up with and that he already has a lot of pride in, working hard in his position of power. And again, he was able to use that position of power to have a slightly evil situation that he worked on, which he thought was consistent with Kier’s original concept, mixed with the future, and different from the new Lumon guard — especially Jame. and Helena kind of Lumon’s concept, which she doesn’t really agree with. So he’s like a Lumon purist, a Kier purist. But again, he was exiled, and so he has this storm of feelings about this organization, revenge, misses it, wants to be hugged and taken home and hates them all. So he goes through this journey this season where we see his origin story.

io9: Oh, very good. I’m so excited to see this. Now, with streaming these days, there are so many shows out there that we’re lucky to have something like that Severancewhich is very good and noteworthy, comes with. Looking back on the first season, when did you realize, “Oh, I’m on a show that’s a hit, and maybe we’re on a little one”?

Tillman: For me, this is the reception. This is fan art, the amount of artistry that was born from this show, how people were inspired, and spent a lot of time making gingerbread houses in the form of Kier’s house, or costumes, and so on. The fact that celebrities, other celebrities, are watching the show and commenting on it is just like, “Oh, it’s getting worldwide attention.”

Arquette: I mean, it’s a great feeling when something is successful, and you know you’re not done telling this story, and you’re working with your friends, and you’re making this thing. And then you have all these smart fans who ask funny questions and laugh at themselves, and they bring other things to the table, and suddenly you feel like you’re all playing. I mean, I’ve been in things before, like True Romance a big bomb. But I know it’s good, and from what I’ve seen Severance together, and when we did it, when I saw it cut, whether it was successful or not, I knew it was interesting and good. So luckily some people thought it was good, and we were able to do a second season.

That second season premieres Friday January 17 on Apple TV+.

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