Britt Lauer (2:47)

I did do a rewatch. And to echo Tramiel, I feel like it was like watching like a home Video from high school or something like it happened such a long time ago.

David Furse (2:59)

Well, the show is primarily directed by Ben Stiller. Has an incredible cast, including both of you, along with Adam Scott, Zach Cherry, John Turturro, Patricia Arquette, Christopher Walken. Can you talk about working with this team?

Britt Lauer (3:17)

Yeah, it's an incredible group of people. Ben Stiller is such a collaborative artist and he brought so many artists who are just kind of at the top of their game and as obsessed with making the show as he is to each department. And yeah, showing up to set and getting to work with my heroes is a real. Is a real surreal experience. A real surreal experience.

David Furse (3:48)

Real surreal is, I think, appropriate.

Britt Lauer (3:51)

Maybe that's the title of the show, Surreal.

David Furse (3:54)

Well, Tramell, I mean, I want to hear your take on that too. It's been fascinating to watch the evolution of the indie versions of some of these characters and the developing workplace relationships that somehow still happen even within the sealed off corporate worship universe of Lumen, including what seems to be a genuine love that grows between John Churturro and Christopher Walken. I mean, it's just so great to see both of them in these roles.

Tramell Tillman (4:24)

I mean, it's a delight to watch them play with each other. They, in real life have a pure, wonderful, respectful relationship with each other. You can tell that they've. They've worked with each other, they're friends, they. They love one another. And to see that manifest on screen is. Is wonderful. You know, they take care of one another. I witnessed that firsthand in season one when we were filming Bert's retirement party. And the care that John had with Christopher and the play that Christopher had with John, it was. It was a delight. And I just wanted so badly to be a part of it, you know, an outsider. And that feeling really fueled Milchick's performance and how he tends to these innies, that he himself is a bit of a outsider from the camaraderie that they are finding naturally.

David Furse (5:21)

It's a fascinating show and I have so many millions of questions. But, Britt, do you somewhat dread talking about the show because it's a delicate dance right in what you can and cannot say because you really need to watch the show from the beginning and watch the whole story arc evolve. Can you maybe share some of the wildest theories that you've heard from fans of the show about what they think might be going on?

Britt Lauer (5:47)

Well, there are so many, I will say. I feel like the audience has become the other part of our show, the other. It feels like we're Having a real conversation from season one to season two, and even now, you know, the world. And then I think it expands in the minds of our viewers and the questions and their engagement with the show really has an impact.

David Furse (6:15)

That's interesting. I mean, I have so many questions. Let me throw one out here. Maybe you both have a take on this, but these characters have sort of kidnapped themselves, right? Or another version of themselves. Tramel. Aside from whatever we think about the motives of the company they work for, how morally culpable are they for locking up this other version of themselves, you know, in the workplace, they never get to see the sky. They only live to work doing who.

Tramell Tillman (6:47)

Knows what morally culpable. You know, what's interesting is the more and more I step through this, this show, there's a lot of conversation around morality. There's conversation of whether or not who's good, who's bad, you know, the villain, the heroes and so forth. What I think is interesting is that it is a question mark across the board. The first question that is asked in the season, we start with, who are you? You know, and I think so much of this piece is about identity. When it comes to morality, as it pertains to Milchick, I think it's less about morality and more about service. He service of this company. He is in service of Kier, and he enters this space with a blind faith, you know, and what makes it interesting is that it feels very human. These are qualities that I have seen, we have witnessed, you know, through religious movements, political movements, that There is this 100% commitment to an entity, to an idea, to a belief, to a faith. And they follow it 100%. They follow it wholeheartedly. And that, to me, is what's so interesting about how these characters are so present and engaging with the audience.

David Furse (8:27)

And when you say in service to Kier, this is the founder of the company they work for?

Tramell Tillman (8:34)

Yes, yes. Founder of Lumen.

Britt Lauer (8:36)

Yes.

David Furse (8:37)

And just to follow up on this with you too, Britt, in the very opening scene of the whole series, right, we see Heli unconscious on a table, locked in what seems to be a conference room, about to begin her severed work life. It feels to the audience and to her in that moment that she's being held prisoner against her will. But we are told her Outie made this choice. This was her own choice to come here to work.

Britt Lauer (9:07)

Yeah. Helly wakes up to a very hungry journey to find out what the hell is going on on the second floor and primarily to find out that question that Tramel said Which is who are you? You know, it's a journey of identity. And I think as season two jumps off of that glimpse that we get at the end of season one of all the characters finding out a little bit more of who they are on the outside, and it's just exploded their world of like, well, what is my relationship to this other part of me? What is my relationship to myself? And what is my relationship to my given and my chosen family? And that's. Yeah, I'm so excited for people to see.

David Furse (9:58)

Exploded is a good word to use. I mean, it's an extreme version of what we all somewhat go through a little bit. Right. But you know, Adam Scott in the first season, playing two versions of his character throughout the first season. Iny Mark and Outy Mark. Your outie reveal only happens in the last episode. This season we get to see a little bit more of who that person is. What was it like breaking up this character that you developed into the two characters?

Britt Lauer (10:31)

Yeah, well, jumping off the idea that this is the same person who shares a body and a subconscious is a person who's, who's bringing the joy and trauma from either side of the innie or the outtie. And then it becomes a question of what's bleeding through. So I kind of started from, well, how are they similar? These are two sides of the same person who are both trapped within the same company. Helena, the Audi is trapped in a very different way because she was born into this family. And then I kind of differentiated sound. They sound like different music in my head, almost like same musician, but different albums or different sides of, of the album. You know, it's the same, it's the same person, but you know, it. She, she has a different set of circumstances, much different set of circumstances on the inside than the outside.

David Furse (11:29)

It's fascinating to, fascinating to me how those different sets of circumstances feel totally different in the two different worlds. I love how the way a character perceives something in the outside world can feel very different for the versions of themselves that are cut off from the world. In this hermetically sealed environment of the severed basement floor of Lumen out there in the world, Mark views his brother in law, right, as something of a buffoon. He's this hugely self absorbed guy that Mark doesn't take seriously. But, But Tramiel, when Mark stumbles across his brother in law's self help book, the you you are at work, this hits him in a completely different way. This is contraband. I mean, he might have mocked it in the real world, but here this is like the guidebook to the revolution.

Tramell Tillman (12:19)

Yeah, it is, it is. And you know, there's that scene where Milchick is sitting and he's reading the book and you see his response to it. It's. It's ridiculous. But here it is, these enies, and this is my take. And please correct me, Brit, if I'm speaking out of turn, but they're hungry for information, they're hungry for knowledge. And here is this mysterious text that has nothing to do with Lumen, its color and its presentation. And now the text is challenging everything that Lumen is standing for. So it is a threat.

Britt Lauer (12:59)

I mean, totally. And I think the inner child that you see kind of emerge from the, the innies when they wake up in their new consciousness is, is at odds with the inner critic that you see on the outside. You know, it's kind of that ego ID nature nurture. So of course, like a brand new consciousness is going to be kind of more open to a, a new idea than someone like Mark's outy is a bit more jaded and maybe he's come across more self help books than is any. Well, 100% more.

David Furse (13:34)

100% more. Exactly right. Tramel, you mentioned in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter when you're talking about rewatching season one that you said at the time when I was acting in season one, I was like, hey, this is all fun, but now I see that it's terrifying. I don't even recognize that guy as me.

Tramell Tillman (13:53)

That's true. That tracks.

Britt Lauer (13:57)

And it's great to work with Tramiel too, because to watch his process is mesmerizing. And you watch him do this terrifying thing and then cut. And he's just the most warm and lovely and delightful person on the planet.

David Furse (14:12)

And also, Britt, talking about rewatching the season now because as we mentioned earlier, a lot of this was filmed a long time ago. And the new season started filming back in 2022, but had to break for the Screen Actors Guilds and the Writers Guild of America strikes. Was it difficult, Britt, to leave and return to these characters in the middle of a season?

Britt Lauer (14:39)

You know, we all kind of got out on the picket lines together, so we stepped into that role for that time period. And there's something about again, like, these costumes are so evocative. Like you put them on and I've got the hel heels and like it just comes right back.

David Furse (14:57)

I, I read that in between seasons. Britt, you joined the circus. Do I have that right? Maybe two different circuses I did, yeah.

Britt Lauer (15:05)

After season one and after season two, I joined two different circuses. And yeah, the. The circus makes me incredibly happy. And what does that mean?

David Furse (15:17)

What were you doing with the circus?

Britt Lauer (15:20)

What was I doing in the most recent circus? I was sitting on top of the tent as the audience arrived, playing my ukulele. And when the show began, I was a ringmaster of sorts. And I just felt incredibly lucky to get to share a stage with my other heroes in the circus world who are tightrope walking and swallowing swords and trapeze.

David Furse (15:49)

Absolutely fascinating. Are we to get you up on the tightrope at any point?

Britt Lauer (15:53)

Well, you know, I don't know if I do anything physically impressive, but I'll talk to the audience. That's my brave act.

David Furse (16:01)

Trameld, how did you use the extra time between seasons? Any circus work?

Tramell Tillman (16:06)

No, I didn't do any circus work. I traveled a bit. You know, I give myself the task to travel internationally at least once a year, so. And I like to travel solo. So it's really fun to be able to explore culture and go see art and museums and taste the food. I love. I love cuisine. So I was in Spain during. During the breaks and I had a wonderful time.

David Furse (16:36)

I have so many questions. I try to get a few more in here because I'm just so curious. And I have to mention that the season was filmed all over New Jersey. The South Bronx, upstate New York. The exteriors of the Lumen building are at Bell Works in Homedel, New Jersey. Do you spend a lot of time filming at these locations, Britt, or is most of it done in a film set where you have those long white hallways and those office spaces?

Britt Lauer (17:07)

Yeah, we do spend a lot of time at a Bronx studio where those labyrinth like hallways are actually built and do confuse us daily. But we.

David Furse (17:18)

I'm so glad because it's incredibly confusing to.

Britt Lauer (17:22)

Confused.

Tramell Tillman (17:23)

Where are we?

Britt Lauer (17:25)

But we. We did get to spend some more time on location for this season and that was cool. To get to the breath. What. What is the line? To breathe fresh air or something from Ricken's book. I'm not sure.

Tramell Tillman (17:40)

Oh, yes, yes.

Britt Lauer (17:42)

To taste fresh air. Something.

David Furse (17:44)

Anyway, it's such a disconcerting feeling that you have being lost in those endless white hallways. And Tramel, the aesthetics of the show, I mean, it's set in some kind of alternate present or maybe near future with those endless and confusing hallways. But the technology in the office looks like it comes from the 80s or maybe the 60s or 70s. You know, the graphics on their computers seem hilariously. Stuck in the 1980s, especially when you get some visual reward and when they get a music reward in the office, Milchick plays records on an old turntable, and it all seems to add to this sense of dislocation and being lost in time.

Tramell Tillman (18:31)

I think it's such a delight to have that quality in the show where you don't know the era that we're in. It feels timeless in that way. And speaking of the hallways, you know, I have to give credit to Jeremy Hindle, our production designer, for crafting such a beautiful set. And on the severed floor, even every piece, it's stunning. And Cat Miller, who is our prop master, and with the instruments that you see in season one, you know, the computers, all of that, it's geniuses that are really crafting and telling this story to create that image, that feel that you're speaking to, that timeless feel.

Britt Lauer (19:14)

And we're so lucky. It feels like we've been dropped into an art installation.

David Furse (19:19)

That's a great way to put it. That is what it feels like. Speaking of being dropped into an art installation, we're New York Public Radio, so we have to ask about the Grand Central stunt that you did recently. You and your cast members were stuck in this glass cube in Vanderbilt hall in Grand Central, acting out office scenes. Tramel, how was this stunt pitched to you?

Tramell Tillman (19:46)

Well, I got a letter. I don't even want to call it a letter. I think it was just a line, and it just said installation cube. So I thought that I was just going to show up and stand by a severance cube along with the rest of my cast, and we just take pictures in Grand Central and then leave? Oh, no. It wasn't until a couple days prior to they said, no, this is a full production. You will be in costume. We're going to have hair, makeup. They have taken the desks and put them in Grand Central. And we had so many questions as to how this works. It's like, is there a door to get into the cube? Is it glass? Is it cold in the cube?

David Furse (20:30)

Will we be protected in there?

Tramell Tillman (20:31)

Will we protect it? Like, how are people going to get in? You know? So it exceeded my expectations. I don't think I had any expectations. It just exceeded my imagination as to how it. How it was going to go. And the turnout was just amazing.

David Furse (20:48)

Britt, what was it like to play this character live in person, in front of a crowd?

Britt Lauer (20:54)

It was incredible. We typically get into character, into costume, and it takes two years before it's delivered to our audience. We were we were performing moment for moment in front of people, and it was so fun. It's so rare that you get to get into character with your cast for a press tour. And, yeah, I think we hadn't been on set for like a year. Right, Tramel. So it's just nice to be together. And we had all these storylines going in there that you'll never know about.

David Furse (21:27)

Well, you're stuck in there. You gotta do something, right? I mean, travell you have theater experience. You were in the Great Society on Broadway until about a month ago. You were off Broadway in a show that we can't say the name of. And you're set to appear in Wine in the Wilderness at Classic Stage Company this spring. Was a live theater background helpful with this stunt?

Tramell Tillman (21:51)

Oh, absolutely. There's nothing like the magic of. Of live theater, and there's nothing like having an audience around you. You know, it's different with television and film because your audience is a bit smaller. But here we are gathered together, you know, instructed not to break the fourth wall and have spectators, you know, around us in the round, but I guess spectators in the cube, if you will, to really feed and give us energy. I remember there was a mom, we. I stepped Mark, or excuse me, I stepped Adam outside of the cube to basically give him a break. And one of the onlookers said, oh, you're gonna take him to the break room.

David Furse (22:34)

That's the first thing I thought of when you said break.

Tramell Tillman (22:37)

You know, so they were, like, really enthusiastic. They. They loved it. They were. They were all in. It was really wonderful to feel and, you know, experience that.

Alison Stewart (22:48)

That was David First's conversation with Tramelle Tillman and Britt Lauer, stars of the hit Show Severance, whose second season earned 27 Emmy nominations at this year's Emmy Awards. Voters for the winners closed last week, and the ceremonies will be held on Sunday, September 14th. You can watch them on CBS or streaming on YouTube. And that is all of it for today. All of it is produced by Andrea Duncan Mao, Kate Hines, Jordan Loft, Simon Close, Zach Gotterer Cohen El Malik Anderson, and Luke Green. Megan Ryan is the head of Live Radio. Our engineers are Juliana Fonda and Amber Bruce. Luscious Jackson does our music. If you missed any segments this week, catch up by listening to our podcast, available on your podcast platform of choice. If you like what you hear, please leave us a great rating. It helps people find the show. I'm Alison Stewart. I appreciate you listening and I appreciate you. Happy Labor Day. I'll meet you back here next time.