Severance

Apple’s office-bound sci-fi takes one big idea — surgically splitting your work self from your home self — and follows it all the way down. The result is one of the most controlled debut seasons in recent memory.

What works

The production design alone earns half a star. Those endless white corridors and the deadpan corporate rituals make Lumon feel like a place that could not possibly be good for you, and the show trusts you to feel that without explaining it.

Adam Scott anchors the whole thing, playing two versions of the same man who don’t know each other and slowly start to disagree about how to live.

What doesn’t

Some of the mystery-box plotting asks for patience the payoff doesn’t fully reward — yet. A few midseason episodes circle the same beats.

Verdict

Essential. Watch it before everyone spoils the finale for you.