S2E10: Cold Harbor (with Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Britt Lower, and Zach Cherry)

Summary

Severance Podcast Summary: Season 2, Episode 10 – "Cold Harbor"

In the season two finale of The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott, titled "Cold Harbor," listeners are treated to an in-depth exploration of the climactic events of Severance’s second season. This episode features insightful discussions with key cast members Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Britt Lower, and Zach Cherry, providing fans with behind-the-scenes perspectives and nuanced analyses of pivotal moments in the show.

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1. Introduction and Season Three Announcement

The episode opens with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott humorously addressing a voicemail from a fan desperate for a Season 3 renewal. In a playful twist, they announce that Severance has indeed been renewed for a third season, albeit with an exaggerated premiere date set humorously “before 2042” (02:16). This lighthearted moment sets a relaxed tone for the episode, engaging listeners with the hosts' trademark wit.

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2. Guest Interview: Ólafur Darri Ólafsson

Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, who portrays Mr. Drummond, joins the podcast to delve into his character's development and contributions to the show's narrative.

Background and Casting

Ólafur shares his journey from Iceland to Hollywood, highlighting the unique challenges of breaking into the American film industry without the aid of self-tapes or agents (08:00). He reflects on his initial experiences and how Severance has been a transformative project in his career.

Character Analysis: Mr. Drummond

The discussion shifts to Mr. Drummond’s role within Lumen and his evolution throughout the series. Ólafur describes Drummond as a "zealot" who embodies unwavering loyalty to the company while also serving as an enforcer (“13:36”). He emphasizes the complexity of portraying a character who maintains a facade of calm and control, masking the underlying menace.

Notable Quote:

"Drummond is such a gentle, kind person, just the polar opposite, but he's scary." – Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (14:01)

Behind-the-Scenes Insights

Ólafur recounts memorable moments on set, including the intense fight scenes and the emotional depth required for scenes like the performance review with Melchick. He praises the show's attention to detail and the collaborative environment fostered by the cast and crew (16:00).

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3. Breakdown of the Finale: "Cold Harbor"

Following Ólafur’s interview, the podcast transitions to a detailed breakdown of the season two finale with Britt Lower (Helly) and Zach Cherry (Dylan), alongside the hosts.

Key Scenes and Emotional Beats

The hosts and guests dissect crucial scenes, such as the fight between Helly and Mark, highlighting the stark shift from mental to physical conflict within the Severance universe. They discuss the choreography, the emotional weight of seeing characters engage in violence, and the impact of these moments on the overarching narrative (23:57).

Notable Quote:

"It's amazing that you're just one tiny cog in this ongoing saga and it's just really important that all the pieces are there together." – Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (17:30)

Production Challenges and Insights

Ben Stiller elaborates on the logistical hurdles of filming complex scenes, such as the elevator fall and the extensive fight choreography, crediting the stunt team for their professionalism and safety measures (24:21). Britt Lower shares her emotional experience during the intimate scenes, describing the set environment as a “time machine” that evokes both past and future memories (59:35).

Character Developments

The conversation delves into character arcs, particularly focusing on Dylan and his Audi, exploring themes of identity and self-improvement. Zach Cherry articulates how Dylan's relationship with his Audi reflects a deeper quest for self-fulfillment and reconnection with his past (54:13).

Notable Quote:

"Next season on Severance, we're going to mostly be focusing on the ultramarathon and marathon running community." – Zach Cherry (75:39)

Emotional Resonance and Audience Connection

Britt Lower emphasizes the emotional reunion between Helly and Gemma, noting how their interactions provide profound insights into their characters' struggles and resilience (58:55). The hosts highlight the powerful scene where Gemma escapes Severance, symbolizing hope and liberation (70:12).

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4. Predictions for Season Three

In the episode's final segment, Zach Cherry offers his humorous yet intriguing predictions for the upcoming season. While many of his guesses are tongue-in-cheek, they spark curiosity about the potential directions the story might take, such as an unexpected focus on the marathon running community (75:57).

Notable Quote:

"Next season on Severance... they are going to really show what humanity is capable of and set new records for the marathon, the mile, and the ultramarathon." – Zach Cherry (75:57)

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5. Conclusion

The episode wraps up with playful banter among the hosts and guests, maintaining the engaging and personable atmosphere that fans appreciate. Ben and Adam express their excitement for season three and gratitude towards the cast, reinforcing the strong community behind Severance.

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Key Takeaways

• Character Depth: Ólafur Darri Ólafsson provides a nuanced look into Mr. Drummond, highlighting his dual role as a loyal company man and an intimidating enforcer.

• Emotional Complexity: The finale successfully balances intense emotional moments with action, deepening the audience’s connection to the characters.

• Production Excellence: The cast and crew's dedication is evident in the seamless execution of complex scenes, from fight choreography to emotional exchanges.

• Future Speculations: While predictions for season three are playful, they hint at continued character development and potentially new thematic explorations.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Ólafur Darri Ólafsson:

  "Drummond is such a gentle, kind person, just the polar opposite, but he's scary." (14:01)

• Zach Cherry:

  "Next season on Severance... they are going to really show what humanity is capable of and set new records for the marathon, the mile, and the ultramarathon." (75:57)

• Britt Lower:

  "I remember watching episode seven and seeing what she had gone through and that level of isolation." (70:37)

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This comprehensive summary captures the essence of The Severance Podcast's season two finale episode, offering fans both a recap and deeper insights into the making and meaning behind Severance’s pivotal moments.

Transcript

[Ben Stiller]

This episode of the Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott is presented by State Farm. Learn [e-mail] severance like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Hey, Adam.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah?

[Ben Stiller]

Is your experience at work a bit dysfunctional lately?

[Adam Scott]

I don't know. I think it's.

[Ben Stiller]

It's okay. I'll take that as a yes. Your team could undergo a highly controversial surgical procedure that would mercifully sever any and all memories of that work experience from your home lives. Or you could try Confluence by Atlassian.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, my God. Well, if it's a choice between those two things, I think I would 100% choose confluence by Atlassian.

[Ben Stiller]

Confluence is the connected workspace where teams can collaborate and create like never before. Where teams have easy access to the relevant pages and resources their projects call for, while discovering important context they didn't even know they needed. A space where AI streamlines the things that normally eat up their time, letting teams generate, organize, and. And deliver work faster. In fact, with Confluence, teams can see a 5.2% average boost in productivity in one year.

[Adam Scott]

So that would equal out, like, if we're playing with like, let's just say 100%, 5.2 of those percentage points. Yeah, that's the improvement.

[Ben Stiller]

I mean, I'm not great at math, but that sounds very close.

[Adam Scott]

Well, I'm doing the math in my head right now as we speak, and I think that's great.

[Ben Stiller]

So why not keep your team unsevered in Confluence, the connected workspace where teams can do it all set, knowledge free with Confluence. Learn more at atlassian.com confluence that's a T l a s s I-a n.com c o n f l U-E-N c.

[Adam Scott]

E how's it going, Ben?

[Ben Stiller]

It's going good, Adam. We have a voicemail call that we want to play for everybody.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's get to that.

[Ben Stiller]

Hi, this is Kelly and I am really needing to know by the finale if there is going to be a season three, and if there isn't a season three, I will find a doctor.

[Zach Cherry]

To perform the severance process on myself.

[Ben Stiller]

So please do whatever it takes. To quote Dylan, I don't give three dry fucks how long it takes to make this still happen, but please make it happen for season three. We need it. Thank you.

[Adam Scott]

Okay, well, first of all, I don't want anyone calling a doctor for brain surgery on our behalf.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Or self severing, which is just not a good idea.

[Adam Scott]

Not a terrible idea. Now, the reason we're kind of sounding a little rougher here is. This is a last minute call we're making to each other, right, Ben?

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, it's very exciting. The news just came through Adam.

[Adam Scott]

Just now.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Through the coconut telegraph that is Apple.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. We each got what's called a coconut telegram, which is like new technology.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. It's the latest Apple product. But here's the deal. Nobody has to give any dry fucks because we are officially renewed for season three and picked up.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. We just wanted to put that at the top of the podcast now and then go to our regularly scheduled programming. But this is. We felt important enough to start out the episode with and get the news out there. And I couldn't be more excited.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, me neither. And I think everyone can just rest easy that we'll have a new season to you at some point before 2037.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Or 2039, something like that.

[Adam Scott]

Okay. I don't want to make any promises.

[Ben Stiller]

2042.

[Adam Scott]

Okay. Guaranteed before 2042. How about that?

[Ben Stiller]

Good.

[Adam Scott]

Okay, back to the show.

[Ben Stiller]

Hey, I'm Ben Stiller.

[Adam Scott]

I'm Adam Scott and this is the.

[Ben Stiller]

Severance podcast with Ben and Adam where we break down every episode of Severance.

[Adam Scott]

That's right. And today is a momentous day. It's the season finale.

[Ben Stiller]

I can't believe it's here.

[Adam Scott]

I know.

[Ben Stiller]

Not the penultimate episode, but the ultimate episode.

[Adam Scott]

That's right. Which is like penultimate. It's just you get rid of the pena. So today we're going to talk about the season two finale, Cold Harbor. It was written by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller.

[Ben Stiller]

Yes. We've got a jam packed episode for you. First we're going to be joined by my friend, the incredible Dari olufsen who plays Mr. Drummond.

[Adam Scott]

Now, should we break down the term jam packed or should we just keep going?

[Ben Stiller]

All right, what's your issue with jam packed?

[Adam Scott]

Then we're going to unpack everything from the finale with our friends Britt Lauer, who plays Helly, and Zack Cherry who plays Dylan.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. And then after that, of course, we're going to hear Zack Cherry's predictions about what's gonna happen next season on Severance. So this is gonna be a bigger swing that he's gonna take, but we're gonna be live with him this time. So that's a whole other spin on it.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, we can call him on his bullshit is what we could do.

[Ben Stiller]

You know, he gets away with that sort of charming, fuzzy, lovable, warm guy. You wanna hug but then he just kind of goes off on these crazy tangents that, you know, I feel like he's playing a little game.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Where he's like playing the kind of, like, silly kind of like. I don't know, I've got silly. It's a little bit like a ploy they would do on the Traders. Right?

[Adam Scott]

Yes, it is. It's exactly like. He's like Carol. Tom.

[Ben Stiller]

Oh, I was going to say Carolyn.

[Adam Scott]

Okay. He's okay. Sure. He's like Carolyn on the Traitors.

[Ben Stiller]

Oh, Tom, though. Tom. Interesting.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Sandoval.

[Ben Stiller]

Right, Sandoval.

[Adam Scott]

He always thought he knew exactly what was going on. He had the whole thing. Game.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Well, Zach Cherry, you should go on the next season of Traitors. Us.

[Adam Scott]

I would love to see.

[Ben Stiller]

I want to see Zach and I want to see him at the round table there. He would be the ultimate traitor. He really would.

[Adam Scott]

I feel like he would last till the end because no one would think he's the ultimate traitor.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Warm and fuzzy, likable guy. But he's really. He's murdering people.

[Adam Scott]

Speaking of murdering people, this is your big spoiler warning. We're gonna talk about everything from season two, episode ten on this episode. So please go watch it before you listen to this.

[Ben Stiller]

We're thrilled now to welcome our first guest today, the brilliant Dari Olufsen, technically named Olafar Dari Olufsen, if you're going for his full name, who plays Mr. Drummond. Dari, welcome. Welcome to our podcast.

[Dari Olufsen]

Thank you, guys. Thank you.

[Adam Scott]

Dari, thank you for being here. This is a thrill.

[Dari Olufsen]

It is a pleasure.

[Ben Stiller]

Dari, you and I have been friends for a while. Do you remember the first time we met?

[Dari Olufsen]

I do. I remember it really well.

[Ben Stiller]

Can you remind me what happened? Cause I remember seeing your audition. I saw Dari's audition tape for a role in the Secret Life of Walter Mitty. We were doing. We were casting out of Iceland and I was really blown away. And then I'm trying to remember the first time that we met in person.

[Dari Olufsen]

I had a call back and what I remember most is that you kept saying to me, like, no, just go for it. Cause we had a fight.

[Adam Scott]

Like, attack me kind of thing.

[Dari Olufsen]

There's stuff that reminds me of that that also brings back memories from the final episode of our show.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, yeah, we'll talk about that for sure.

[Dari Olufsen]

Yeah, we'll talk about that. But, yes, that was the first time. And I remember I was just like, okay, so you kept asking me to sort of just do more. And that was fun. It was also terrifying.

[Ben Stiller]

And you didn't want to break me, right? You didn't want to hurt me.

[Dari Olufsen]

I'm a big guy.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. But I'm kind of strong for a little guy, right?

[Dari Olufsen]

You are very strong. Don't get me wr. It was also just. I mean, to be honest, I don't think we've ever discussed this, but I've been such a fan of your work, and it felt kind of unreal. And I just didn't want to be known as the guy who got a callback and then broke Ben Stiller's nose.

[Ben Stiller]

That would have helped, actually. I've been waiting for someone to break my nose my whole career. We had so much fun working together. You played this drunken helicopter pilot.

[Adam Scott]

So funny in that movie.

[Ben Stiller]

We became friends and our families became friends and stayed in touch over the years. And do you want to talk a little bit about your background as an actor and where you come out of?

[Dari Olufsen]

Yeah. I mean, I was born in the US I was born in Connecticut, but my parents are Icelandic. And when I was four, I moved back to Iceland. I grew up there, went to drama school there. And honestly, when I graduated, which is something like 27 years ago, if I would have told anyone that I would at some point work in a Hollywood film, people would have laughed me out of the room because that's just. The world was different. There were no self tapes. You kind of had to live in LA or New York for anyone to know you existed. And that was good because as an actor, I really needed. I needed experience before I got any kind of real responsibility. And there are no. There used to be no agents in Iceland. So you also had to kind of had to know who was going to, you know, who got a grant from the film fund to go shoot a film. And then you would reach out to them and say, hey, I don't mind auditioning, or so I feel in many ways, I kind of lucked out. Sort of had to take care of myself and figure out what was important and what kind of makes you happy. Because certainty, it isn't fame. I don't think that's the greatest part of what we do. I think for me, it was always to kind of try and get into a position where I could choose what I wanted to do, kind of choose the people I wanted to work with and maybe have at least some opinion on what parts I might get. But, like, when I met you, I'd done one film in the US a small partner film called Contraband with Mark Wahlberg, which was a Great experience. But honestly, after that, I kind of went home and I was like, okay, that was my one Hollywood experience. But that certainly changed.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. And then you've gone on to work with so many great directors. I mean, would you say you're the biggest star in Iceland?

[Dari Olufsen]

You know what? It's really funny because there's only, like 350,000 of us, but I think I can honestly say that there are about probably around 10 actors that consistently work outside of Iceland. So I'm more than happy to share a top 10 with people.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, it's crazy to think that there's, you know, 10 actors out of 350,000 people. That's kind of a crazy ratio. There's a very small amount of people in Iceland.

[Dari Olufsen]

There is something in the water in Iceland. I mean, honestly, I think a part of it is that Iceland is or has been a fairly sort of. There's not a lot of status between people, so people interact with each other very easily. You know Bjork, who's probably the most famous Icelandic person of all time.

[Ben Stiller]

No, the correct pronunciation is Bjork.

[Dari Olufsen]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Sorry, how did you pronounce it?

[Dari Olufsen]

Bjork.

[Ben Stiller]

Okay. I guess.

[Adam Scott]

I don't think I could do that if I wanted to.

[Dari Olufsen]

Bjork, the singer. She's, like, world famous, but if you're in Iceland, you're more than likely to meet her at a local store buying groceries.

[Ben Stiller]

When we shot in Iceland for Secret Life, we had our wrap party in Iceland. She was not part of the movie, but everybody was like, are we ever gonna see Bjork? And she came to the wrap party.

[Adam Scott]

No way.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. And then, like, a whole bunch of people ended up going to her house afterwards. It was very exciting.

[Adam Scott]

Wow.

[Dari Olufsen]

Really cool.

[Adam Scott]

I remember being so bummed that I didn't have anything to do in Iceland in that movie.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

I wanted to go so bad.

[Ben Stiller]

We had an adventure there. But, Dari, what was your. We know each other, but, like, what was your connection with Severance before you came on the show? Had you watched it? Were you aware of it?

[Dari Olufsen]

I had watched it, and, you know, I had really crazy last year where I got to be part of two series that I absolutely loved. One of them is called Somebody Somewhere Incredible, which you never show.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dari Olufsen]

And I had watched the two seasons of that and just. Absolutely. And me and Bridget are good friends, and I just loved her series, and getting to be a part of that was just amazing. But then also Severance, which I absolutely love. It reminded me, honestly, of Twin Peaks. Do you remember when that came out, that everyone was trying to figure out what's going on in the series. And I really loved that series when I watched it back in the day. But it had the same kind of vibe of you just kind of didn't know what was going on. And I think in many ways, Severance reminds me of that.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, it's interesting to me, always, like, what people connect with and what questions they're asking. And, I mean, you as a character in the show. It's interesting on my end because we're always looking at ways that security and oversight work at Lumen, and it's always connected somehow with the ideology of the company, too. And so we felt in season two, after Rainer was gone, there would be somebody who is in the hierarchy who, you know, kind of oversees things. And how do you see Mr. Drummond? Because he kind of oversees a lot of sort of the bureaucratic stuff that's going on at the company, you know, dealing with Milchick and Helena, too, as a conduit to James. But then he's also kind of, as we see in the last episode, the guy is also kind of an enforcer also.

[Dari Olufsen]

First, I want to say, like, can I tell you, when I first came to set?

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah.

[Dari Olufsen]

The first time I came to set, I wasn't shooting, but I came to the hallways, and it is the funniest. Like, I had the biggest fanboy moment standing in a hallway and just going like, oh, my God, I'm in the hallway. Just. It kind of blew my mind. I loved it so much.

[Ben Stiller]

We have a lot of hallways to see.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, there's plenty of them.

[Dari Olufsen]

They're pretty amazing. And Adam has explored them all. We have seen that. I remember meeting Adam when he had been running around. You were quite sort of sweaty and.

[Ben Stiller]

Was I. I think you were probably shooting the opening shot of 201. Probably one of those days.

[Dari Olufsen]

But, yeah, I think Drummond is, you know, a zealot. He's one of these people that just absolutely does not question the company. And I kind of like the fact that it's hard to place him. I think we kind of get to see the real him in the final episode when he sort of just takes the mask off and we see sort of the monster that exists behind that mask.

[Adam Scott]

The disdain he has for Annie's.

[Dari Olufsen]

Absolutely. And the disdain he has even for Milchick. All the, you know, kind of everyone around him except for Helena, you know, he respects her. He respects her father, of course, but he respects her and kind of looks at her like he wants to take care of her. And I think he feels sorry for her.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, it's interesting because Drummond is a foreboding, intimidating person. First of all, it's interesting because you're such a gentle, kind person, just such the polar opposite of Drummond. But he's scary. And part of that is your voice and kind of this booming, deep voice. And when you talk as Drummond, everybody listens. Like, it kind of, you know, takes over whatever room you're in. How did you develop what Drummond would sound like? Was that something you guys talked out together?

[Dari Olufsen]

Yeah, we had a conversation about that. I kind of also love that there's at least two scenes where he hardly says a word, which I think is also amazing. I absolutely loved shooting that scene in the boardroom where he's just kind of in the scene, but not.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, that's so interesting because of the body language where you're sort of there sitting while the conversation between Helena and Cobell is happening. And it's just so clear that you're like, you have to be there and that you're sort of taking in everything that's going on, yet silently. And I feel like that was a great way, I think, to start to introduce this character and not have to really explain who you were, because I think, you know, people kind of figured that out. But you also kind of have these great moments of humor in the show. In the performance review with Melchick, just, you know, the question of, like, do you want to fill out the lunch menu? It's like a very dry sense of humor, I think. And then also you with Maurer, later in episode seven, when you say, why are you wearing that stupid sweater?

[Dari Olufsen]

Yeah. And working with Robbie was. That was so lovely.

[Ben Stiller]

That was such a really funny.

[Dari Olufsen]

When that happened. Such a nice.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Both of you have really distinctive voices and are able to do a lot, I think, with very little, too, in terms of your presence and the way you just decide the choices that you make.

[Dari Olufsen]

But I think I want to give some credit that I remember we were shooting the review, the performance review, and my instinct was that he was harder on him. Milchick, because I remember you came in and we had this conversation of softening up the performance. And when I watched it, I was like, okay, it was exactly the right way to take. And I think it makes it much more weirder, like, to be told off that you put the paperclip wrong way. It's just so. It's just so insane.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, you're right. I mean, you also have the ability to kind of like very subtly shift your intonation or attitude and it could become very intimidating.

[Dari Olufsen]

There's a lot of stuff in the show where I just felt I needed that guidance. You know, very often you can show up and you can come and do your work, but when you're doing something as specific as severance, I can honestly, when I watch the episode, I'm so happy to have, of course, what you need, which is your director and showrunners and writers and everyone around you. But it's kind of amazing that because you're just one tiny cog in this ongoing saga and it's just really important that all the pieces are there together.

[Adam Scott]

All right, now's a good time for us to take a quick break, but when we come back, we'll will be talking all about the season finale. The fear of the unknown can be intimidating. When you're working for a company that no one quite understands, and you're trying to put all the pieces together, it's understandable that you'd be on edge. Faced with tough management, performance reviews that feel rigged against you, or maybe getting lost in a literal maze of endless white hallways. It can all be really unsettling. But with State Farm by your side, taking the next step with your own insurance doesn't have to be scary. Your State Farm agent is here to help support you when it's time to get your own policy. And if things get complicated, State Farm gives you lots of ways to get help too. Whether you prefer in person, over the phone, on statefarm.com or through the app, your agent is there to help. So if it's time to get off your parents insurance and into your own, go to statefarm.com severance to find out how State Farm can help. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

[Ben Stiller]

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[Adam Scott]

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[Ben Stiller]

Emil the goat. Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Dari Olufsen]

Beautiful.

[Adam Scott]

Should we listen to that scene really quick?

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah.

[Dari Olufsen]

Has it verve?

[Ben Stiller]

It does wiles the most of its flock.

[Dari Olufsen]

This beast will be entombed with a cherished woman whose spirit it must guide to Kir's door. Is it up to the task?

[Adam Scott]

So what was it like working with this little baby goat?

[Dari Olufsen]

Wow, those goats were cute. That was one of my first questions to Ben was like, what's up with the baby goats? But at the same time, don't tell me.

[Adam Scott]

Did he give you an answer?

[Ben Stiller]

Well, the answer is, you're going to try to kill one.

[Dari Olufsen]

It was so cute. And also working with Gwendolyn was so much fun.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, Gwendolyn's the best. Right.

[Ben Stiller]

That scene you guys did such a great job with, you know, I was gonna say, like, wow, that dialogue is really light and, you know, naturalistic. Yeah. But you really did such a great job with that scene because it was an important thing to pull off that okay. There's this ritual that happens. And I remember when we shot that scene, I didn't really say anything to you other than we started to block it. And you kind of went into the space with Gwendolyn, and you both sort of just kind of adopted these movements. And the way that you stood behind the altar and the way that you went to the gun and just the ceremonial nature of it and just sort of the flourishes you had. I love when you. You know, we came up with this idea that there's, like, a secret door in the hallway. And when you pushed open that door, it was such a great. Just motion of it with the music, and then the wind that kind of, like, flew across your face from opening the door. I think I told you this. It reminded me of those old Maxell commercials when. I think that was like, a cassette commercial. First sound where a guy would sit in a chair and the speakers would blast wind at him.

[Adam Scott]

So cool.

[Ben Stiller]

But you guys were so great with that. And then we had really. The other big scene, obviously, is this fight between you and Mark that. We'd never done a fight on the show. We wanted to go for that. And just the way you guys figured out how to get into that, because it really had to kind of escalate. And throughout the series, we've never, ever shown any physical kind of intimidation with Innies. We've never. Right. It's all been sort of mental. And we felt like at a certain point, if one of the Lumen employees actually was physical with Mark, that would be a huge even. Just. How do you begin that? And it started out by you just kind of pushing him up against the wall. And then that one punch right in the nose.

[Dari Olufsen]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Which you guys sold so well to me as a viewer, it's shocking to see, like, oh, wow, he's punching him. Because we've never seen anything like that.

[Adam Scott]

I remember you wanted it to be quick and brutal, but start small and then escalate. And it was a brutal couple of days. What do you think, Dari?

[Dari Olufsen]

They were. I did my last shot falling out of the elevator.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

And that's.

[Dari Olufsen]

After that, my back was just like. Someone had to help me stand up.

[Ben Stiller]

Right.

[Dari Olufsen]

But I loved it. I don't do many fight scenes, but that fight scene is epic. I have to say, though, Adam, again, I'm sorry. When I turned around and threw you.

[Adam Scott]

Into the wall, that was my fault. That was 100% my fault. Because we're talking about when Dari grabs me and slams me up against the wall. And we had worked it out over and over again and practiced it over and over again. And part of my responsibility was, while he's swinging me, for one of my arms to come up and block my body so I could get slammed into the wall at full speed, but it would guard my head and the rest of my body from the wall. And my arm just got, like, caught behind me or something, and I didn't get it up in time, so I hit it with my head. And I believe that's the shot that's used in the show, right?

[Ben Stiller]

It definitely is. Yeah.

[Dari Olufsen]

Look, I remember. You know, first of all, everyone was like, oh, my God, Adam. You know, I felt really bad. And then when everyone knew that you were okay, I remember looking at Ben was like, oh, we got that.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah.

[Dari Olufsen]

Really happy.

[Ben Stiller]

I was happy, I have to say. And I was. I was glad you were okay, but it looked incredible.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Totally worth being concussed.

[Ben Stiller]

Also, I just have to credit Dean Neistat, our stunt coordinator.

[Dari Olufsen]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

And my friend Phil Nielsen came in to help with that fight, who I'd worked with as our stunt coordinator and second unit director on Tropic Thunder. Go back that far with him and Escape at Dannemor, and he's just so much fun.

[Adam Scott]

Phil's awesome.

[Ben Stiller]

He's one of my favorite people. And you guys all worked really hard on that scene, rehearsing it, and the stunt people who were in there, too. And Gwendolyn, it's really. You know, I really believe when you're choking him out at the end there, Adam, it looks like you're really, like, you did something to really make it look like you were about to.

[Dari Olufsen]

Oh, my God, your eyes, you know. Yeah, that's an uncomfortable thing. I just did that the other day, again, to choke an actor.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Dari Olufsen]

And, you know, usually we always, like. Yeah, no, just go for it.

[Ben Stiller]

I thought we had a no choke clause in your contract where you couldn't choke any other actors except on severance. Shit.

[Dari Olufsen]

I'll have them cut it out. It's probably there.

[Adam Scott]

What was it, do you think? It was, like, three days of the fight scene. Because you're right, it is epic. Because there's our fight, and then Gwendolyn comes in, and it's a whole nother little mini fight scene that starts.

[Dari Olufsen]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

And Gwendolyn was incredible. She really sold it.

[Dari Olufsen]

Oh, my God.

[Ben Stiller]

I mean, you guys both sold it, and.

[Adam Scott]

No, but Gwendolyn knows exactly what she's doing.

[Dari Olufsen]

Like, exactly. She was. She's such a professional.

[Adam Scott]

Totally.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. And then the two of you had to get in that elevator together and do the bloodiest scene ever in Severance. Yeah, it was a bloodbath in there. It was pretty wild.

[Dari Olufsen]

I mean, I feel very honored to. You know, finally, when you see blood, you do see blood. It was a ton of blood.

[Adam Scott]

It was a lot.

[Ben Stiller]

That was one of the places where I'm like, okay, we're going places we haven't gone on this show before. But it also felt like, you know what? This is kind of exciting and right for this episode. You know, episodes have different feelings to them and different themes to them. And, you know, going back to season one, where we had that one moment of violence with Graynor, it felt like this was sort of building on that. I think it's very unexpected. It feels to me when that gun goes off. And you guys really, again, just did a great job with that, and it was fun to shoot.

[Adam Scott]

When we were doing the actual gun going off and the blood coming out, we did it three or four times maybe, But I remember one of the times it was like a hose shooting me directly in the face with blood. It was insane. And that's obviously not the one in the. In the show, but I would love to. I never looked at the dailies from that. I would love to see that, because it was nuts how much.

[Ben Stiller]

There's a little too much pressure. It reminded me of the Dan Aykroyd doing Julia Child getting cut on Saturday Night Live back in the day. She's like, oh, Lord, I've done it now.

[Adam Scott]

Now I've done it.

[Ben Stiller]

Or like a Monty Python, you know, Holy Grail.

[Dari Olufsen]

I remember Judy Chin, our makeup designer, and those guys coming over and just like, what are we gonna do?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, there's nothing we can do.

[Dari Olufsen]

Soaked in blood.

[Ben Stiller]

And then, Adam, you're, like, blood soaked for the rest of the episode.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, that's right. I mean, every morning I had to come in and put on these crusty blood clothes.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

But it was fun.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. I also think that it's seeing a level of violence and, like you said, the true colors of Drummond there underneath that we really haven't seen ever at Lumen, because everything is sort of intimated, but this raw, ugly violence that is at the heart of it that is now, you know, now that we have seen and has been exposed. And I think it's sort of like, to me, the end of the episode kind of goes towards that tonally, even in the last image. And, you know, we're in a place we haven't been in terms of that yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dari Olufsen]

I'm really excited to see what happens next season.

[Adam Scott]

So are we.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, man, I'm excited, too. And I love you. Love working with you. I'm so glad you've been a part of the show. And thanks for coming on the podcast.

[Dari Olufsen]

Just right back at you.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, thanks, Darry.

[Dari Olufsen]

Thank you. I'll see you soon.

[Adam Scott]

Guys, it's time for us to break down the finale, but we couldn't do it alone. Britt Lauer, who plays Helly, and Zach Cherry, who plays Dylan, are on the podcast. Brit, Zach, thank you for being here. And hello, hello.

[Zach Cherry]

Hello.

[Ben Stiller]

Adam, you don't seem that happy about breaking down the finale.

[Adam Scott]

You know, I think I'm just a little wary of having Zach on the show, to be honest.

[Zach Cherry]

That's fair.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Yeah. Cause I feel like he's gonna make some of his sort of, like, innocent, funny, kind of like, hey, I'm just a guy with crazy ideas comments.

[Adam Scott]

I'm just a lovable guy. And I'm going to encourage listeners to reach out to Ben and Adam about dental hygiene.

[Zach Cherry]

That's right, listeners. If you haven't had a chance yet, make sure to reach out to Ben and Adam and let them know how your teeth are doing.

[Ben Stiller]

Thank you.

[Britt Lauer]

Zach and I have just been recording our podcast just prior to this all morning, so all of our good bits are going to be dried up.

[Zach Cherry]

I got my energy out.

[Adam Scott]

What podcast are you guys recording?

[Ben Stiller]

What are you talking about?

[Britt Lauer]

Zach, do you want to tell them?

[Zach Cherry]

We had a podcast we were recording throughout the production of season one and two.

[Britt Lauer]

Yep. It's yet to be titled, but you haven't titled it.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah. And we haven't released an episode.

[Britt Lauer]

The working title, it's called Soup and Smoothies.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Contractually, we have it so that nobody else from Severance can have a podcast.

[Britt Lauer]

Oh, too bad.

[Ben Stiller]

Severance that mentions Severance. You could call it like the podcast with Soup and Smoothies with Zach and Brit and not talk about Severance. You don't talk about Severance, though, right? You just talk about other stuff.

[Zach Cherry]

We kind of say the word severance. We recap each episode of Severance.

[Adam Scott]

Okay.

[Zach Cherry]

And we play a ton of clips from your show. It's mostly just your show. And then we kind of talk before.

[Adam Scott]

And after you recap our podcast.

[Britt Lauer]

Primarily, we break down the food that is eaten on Severance and the types of food that people who work on Severance like to eat.

[Ben Stiller]

So it's like soup. Yeah, soup. And smoothies. And eggs and melons. And eggs and melons that's right. So, you guys, we're gonna go through the finale. What was it like for you guys watching the finale? Because, Zach, I know that you don't really watch the show until it's out on the air. And Britt, I'm not sure what, you know, what your interpretation and feeling of watching the last episode.

[Zach Cherry]

I want to know, Brit, when do you watch show? How do you watch it?

[Britt Lauer]

I like to imagine when we're filming it that that's the show, that the camera that's in my eyeballs is the show.

[Zach Cherry]

So it's pov.

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah, it's just purely pov. No, I think I watched them all when we were in Brazil doing Comic Con.

[Ben Stiller]

Right.

[Britt Lauer]

In, like, one sitting, at least. Like, the second half of the show in Portuguese or. No, no, when we were in Brazil, not.

[Adam Scott]

Britt only watches the show in Portuguese.

[Britt Lauer]

Although I am really curious about the voice actors who play Helly and Dylan and Mark in the other countries. I'm so curious as to how they sound.

[Zach Cherry]

Me too. We need to have a meetup.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. I haven't heard it dubbed into other languages.

[Adam Scott]

It's pretty easy, I think. You just select whatever language you want, and you can watch it in any of those languages and find out how they sound.

[Ben Stiller]

Really?

[Britt Lauer]

Oh, my gosh. Wow.

[Ben Stiller]

So what language do you like to watch it in, Adam?

[Adam Scott]

I primarily like watching it in Mandarin.

[Ben Stiller]

Mandarin?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Cool. And do you approve of the actor who does your voice?

[Adam Scott]

Well, I do the Mandarin, Yeah. But I think all the actors I've. I've watched the entire season in every single language, and they're all great.

[Ben Stiller]

That's great. So you know all the languages?

[Adam Scott]

Yep. Well, yeah, I'm fluent in all languages. Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Who's the Irish actor who does. You?

[Adam Scott]

Oh, yeah. They do it in all dialects too, which is cool.

[Dari Olufsen]

So.

[Ben Stiller]

Okay. So, Zach, are you being diplomatic? You're kind of.

[Zach Cherry]

Oh, no, I was just letting Britt answer. No, I loved watching it. It was really exciting to see everything. It was really fun seeing how it all kind of, like, came together. I also the band. I ran into one of the guys from the band at a Nets game, and he was like, yo. Like, I can't wait until that comes out. And then he was with a bunch of kids. He was, like, in charge of a kids band that was performing at halftime. And then as I walked away, he was like, we're gonna fuck Mr. Milchick up.

[Ben Stiller]

Jesus.

[Zach Cherry]

So I was excited to see them again and just like, yeah, it was great. It was awesome.

[Ben Stiller]

They did an amazing Job. That band we put together.

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah, yeah. That was like, the greatest week of our lives. Just being so fun, being surrounded by a marching band. I can't think of anything better.

[Ben Stiller]

There's nothing more exciting and enervating than hearing, like, a drum corps and a marching band. I love it so much. And actually, that's one thing. When you go see the Nets, where they have that drum corps that comes out and that drum line, they're so good. I wish the Knicks had something like that because those guys are amazing.

[Zach Cherry]

I also. The first time I watched it, it was really fun. Seeing Tramiel do his thing with the animatronic here, that was that.

[Adam Scott]

I was so fun.

[Zach Cherry]

That brought such joy to me.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, that was so, so, so, Ben, all of that, the song, the. We should start just going through the episode.

[Ben Stiller]

Let's go through the episode. Let's go through the episode.

[Adam Scott]

All right. We start at the beginning. We're down in mdr. We pick up where the last episode left off with Jay, Megan visiting heli. So let's listen to that. What a funny speech you gave at.

[Dari Olufsen]

The almost cross with you after.

[Britt Lauer]

I.

[Dari Olufsen]

Threw a tin of candies.

[Britt Lauer]

God, you're fucking weird.

[Ben Stiller]

What was it like for you shooting that Brit? Because I remember that day very well. And you and Michael Cibore, who plays James, just did such a great job with that scene, because the dialogue, when you listen to it and look at it, it's almost like he's in a Shakespearean play and you're like, in a sitco. You know what I mean? Like, he's, like, saying these things, and you're just, like, throwing back these comebacks at him, but yet you guys make it work tonally.

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah. He's so incredible. He's so chilling. It's like the hair stands up on the back of your neck when he starts speaking. And I remember. I remember I said to you, Ben. I was like, ben, when he walks in, I need a weapon. And it hadn't been written into the scene, but I was like, I just think Helly needs to, like. She just wants to fight him immediately. There's something about him that she's like. She just has a physical response that.

[Ben Stiller]

Became a really important part of the scene. And I think it really helped sort of orient us as, like, for me, it's such a big deal that James coming into mdr, you know, anytime a new character comes into a space they haven't been in, it just felt very weird. So, like you.

[Adam Scott]

It's almost like especially him, too, coming into mdr. That is a huge deal that he's walking in.

[Ben Stiller]

Exactly. It kind of reminded me of like when you picked up the stapler when Bert came into MDR first season.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah. Because we're so used to only having us and Milchick and Ms. Wong down there. And seeing him on there as a viewer was very unsettling. Seeing him, like, in that space, like.

[Ben Stiller]

Oh, yeah. It's just like this dynamic between Helle and Jaime that started in, you know, last episode of season one. Then since then, he has seen that you were not Helena when he talked to him in the bathroom. And he seems very interested in you.

[Adam Scott]

All these things you do, like when you tell him he's gonna burn in hell, it just makes him love you more, which is just so scary and weird.

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah. And Helly doesn't have to pretend to be Helena in this scene, so she doesn't have to hold back.

[Ben Stiller]

I. Now with my daughter, I'll sometimes just text her. I do not love my daughter.

[Britt Lauer]

Oh, no.

[Ben Stiller]

Text me back. Thanks a lot.

[Adam Scott]

You know what? I should try that.

[Ben Stiller]

I mean, it's pretty heavy for him to say that about Helena.

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

And it also. I think it's pretty. It kind of is educational for the audience to understand. Right. What you're dealing with there. What we saw in episode nine that.

[Britt Lauer]

Well, I think it's probably. I think it's probably the first time that Heli has any sense of empathy for Helena. You know, I think it's maybe the first insight she has into the fact that Helena's life is pretty isolated and trapped and tortured.

[Adam Scott]

I love that line. You sound like a great dad. It's so funny, but it's so true. Like, Jesus, what a number he did on this person. And Helly's really getting a peek into.

[Britt Lauer]

You also find out that he sired others in the dark, which is really crazy.

[Ben Stiller]

He's a pretty scary person.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

I like Elena might be a child.

[Zach Cherry]

That he treats the best. Like, we don't know how he treats any of the other children.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah. Or if he even knows them.

[Ben Stiller]

So outside of Lumen, what we pick up with at the beginning of the episode is that Mark and Devin and Cobell are at the birthing cabin. Right. And they sort of lay out this plan for Mark to go down to the testing floor and to save Gemma. It's a lot that we have to kind of set up there in a quick amount of time. And Adam, you have to then go into this scene with yourself.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. Hey, I'm. I guess you know who I am. I think you've spoken with Devin and Mrs. Silver, Ms. Cobell, so you know what it is that we're asking. But the first thing I need to say to you is that I am so sorry. You know, I created you as a prisoner and as an escape, Bloomin told me you'd be happy, that in ease are content. And because I took their word for it, you've been living a nightmare for two years. Yeah, I remember this just being like, okay, how are we gonna do this? And we shot for a few days. But I remember at the beginning when we kind of got on that set, which is beautiful, by the way. Jeremy really outdid himself with that cabin set with that fireplace and everything. It's really cool. Once we started kind of going through it and being like, okay, this is the innie, this is the Audi, and this is where we'll be mapping out physically where we're going, the scene itself started shifting a bit.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, we had to rehearse it a lot. It was one of those scenes that we were in. The writing we're looking at, like, what is the core of this scene? And so there was a lot of work on the scene as you would rehearse it with yourself. And it was, you know, usually you'll sit and rehearse with another actor. Adam had to rehearse this thing with himself. And it's a long scene. And then we'd be questioning like, well, you know, what would Audi mark say to any mark when he says this? And what's Audi mark's attitude? And, you know, all of the progression of this scene? And then we had to sort of figure out what the blocking would be for it. And then we had to kind of lock it in on Friday because we were gonna start shooting it on Monday. And it was our first shooting that we were doing post the strike. I remember that. So it had been a long time, and you had to commit all this to memory.

[Adam Scott]

But also we had to lock it in because once we shot one side of it, we couldn't start adjusting the dialogue anymore because it was locking in the other side.

[Ben Stiller]

You couldn't improvise any. You couldn't respond to it yourself. Then you had to record video messages to yourself on both sides that you could then listen to when you were playing either Audi mark or any mark. And it was. I used the term mind numbing because just for you, it must have been incredibly hard. And for us just trying to keep track of all the angles and how we were gonna put it together. But When Jeff and I put it together in the editing room, I just remember every time I would watch it, I just would get pulled into the discussion that was going on, which I thought was a good sign that I was just getting pulled into your, you know, your dialogue.

[Adam Scott]

Right. And also you and Jess. I remember it was interesting kind of watching you guys map it out and figure out how to make it because, you know, it's one person kind of having this conversation with themselves. It could get boring. But you guys like keeping it visually interesting with all the moves you make and all the stuff with the camera and everything. It's really fun to watch how you guys keep that ball in the air visually.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, I feel like that's one of those scenes where the. You should sort of like. Like you shouldn't be thinking about the camera or like what you're seeing because what you're doing is so interesting and you just want to kind of keep it very clear who's talking to who. So we just made like very simple choices. Like any mark is going to be looking from right to left, and Audi Mark will be looking from left to right the whole time.

[Adam Scott]

Right? And Audi Mark is outside, Inimark is by the fire.

[Ben Stiller]

Addie Mark's outside, Enimark's inside. And then we knew that we'd have the video message itself to sometimes cut to, but just keeping it simple like that for screen direction and then figuring out when you wanted to stand up. And actually, and I always thought it was interesting that your instinct as Mark would be to stand up when you get upset as Audi Mark, but then Inymark gets upset at hearing what Audi Mark says and he stands up. And so you kind of both stand up at the same time and it kind of matches that action. And, and that was important to figure out, I think, for you, like, what felt like, what was the right build to get to that end moment, the moment when Audi Mark sort of gives away how desperate he is for Inymark to help him. And you start to feel that Audi Mark in some way is trying to get any mark to do what he wants, no matter what any mark really wants.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, hey, Ms. Google told me you like someone down there. Helena Egan, right? Her innie name's Helenie. Honestly, I love the Dead experience. So now you can imagine, like what you and Helenie have, but multiplied, like thousands of days of like, joy and argument and passion. Then you can see why I have to get my wife back. I have to have her back.

[Ben Stiller]

That moment when you say, hey, I heard you Fell in love with. I think her name's Helene. Which kind of reminds me, Brit, of that moment in the episode six scene when you're at the Chinese restaurant.

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah, I was thinking about that same thing when I was rewatching it the other night. I was like, oh, that's a little echo there.

[Adam Scott]

No one can get Mark's wife or girlfriend's name correctly. Like, what is going on?

[Zach Cherry]

Those scenes were also so fun as a viewer and as someone who wasn't there for those scenes, both the scene in the Chinese restaurant and this one, because it was like, the first time these sets of characters got to talk to each other. So that was so exciting to finally see, like, your Innie and your Audi communicate somewhat directly. Like, there was still the video camera in between. But that was, like, so satisfying to get to see. You have that conversation.

[Ben Stiller]

And I want to talk a little bit about when Dylan starts to communicate with his Audi, too, because that happens later in the episode. But before we get to that, there's the scene after you finish talking to yourself that then Cobell has to explain to you what's going on. She says the numbers are your wife, and she basically breaks down what's going on as much as we've ever known.

[Adam Scott]

What do you see every day when.

[Dari Olufsen]

You look at them?

[Adam Scott]

What? We feel things. What do you feel? Different things. Sometimes Sadness. Whoa.

[Ben Stiller]

Frau.

[Adam Scott]

Like malice.

[Ben Stiller]

Dread.

[Adam Scott]

So you're saying the clusters are tempers.

[Ben Stiller]

A lot of information happening in this birthing cabin.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. And I think Dan and Beau and Mark, they did a really good job of taking all of this really information heavy stuff and kind of embedding it in character and making it important that they say these things to each other so it just doesn't feel like endless exposition.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. What was it like for you guys? Like, Zach? I'm curious. Like someone who famously doesn't like to watch the show until the end or. I don't know if we know if you read the scripts or not. Do we know?

[Adam Scott]

We don't know.

[Britt Lauer]

I know I read them for him.

[Zach Cherry]

Brit reads them to me.

[Ben Stiller]

Okay. Do you have the scripts read to you? So for you as a viewer, what are you taking into there? Because we were thinking about how much information is dispersed and what is the sort of the core information? What's the least amount of information? What do we want the audience to kind of, like, think about? But then also, you don't want to give them too much there, too.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of it is confirmation of stuff that you've sort of been feeling and getting hints of like getting confirmed by Cobell that oh, the numbers are your wife, they're related directly to her. I think that's something that this season you kind of have started to feel pretty sure of. So it was this fun moment of like, yes, okay, that is what's going on. And like now let's kind of find out what happens now that the characters know that.

[Adam Scott]

Right?

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah. I felt like I was excited to kind of see Innie and Outy marks intelligence and how they are just a little bit different. Like there's they're both hyper intelligent but they think about things slightly differently. And you're able to really see those subtle differences when they're like really up against each other. And I thought it was really interesting the way that Audi Mark makes all these assumptions about the innie that then Enie Mark is able to kind of defend himself and refute.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, I think that what ends up being the straw that breaks Camel's back is this Audi mark not having the self awareness to know how condescending he's being towards this person, not realizing that he's pushing it a little too far and treating this person like they're a little kid or less intelligent that they are.

[Ben Stiller]

I have one question. When that happens and he goes into the elevator at that point for you, Zack and Rick, were you like, where are you feeling your allegiances as viewers? Are you rooting for Audi mark or any mark at that point?

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah, I mean I think that scene does a great job of balancing out their separate but parallel.

[Adam Scott]

You're rooting for any mark, does that what you're rooting for any mark to get to Helly, right?

[Britt Lauer]

Well, I guess Inimark's sort of stating the thesis for all of the Innies in this episode. Really? He's kind of saying like, why does.

[Adam Scott]

Your your need, like why does it eclipse my needs?

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah, exactly. Like Dylan is going through the same experience. Like why does his Audi have more of a say than he does? Same with as we'll get to in the sort of end of the episode, like Helle's thesis statement to the band members as well. It kind of like that's the through line.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

All right, this is a perfect moment to take a quick break. We'll be back right after this. The MDR team continues to search for answers as they try to piece together memories from the overtime contingency. But luckily you don't have to take a mind erasing elevator to work every day. So your workplace productivity can be much simpler with Confluence by Atlassian. Confluence is the connected workspace where teams can collaborate and create like never before, where teams have easy access to the relevant pages and resources their projects call for while discovering important context they didn't even know they needed a space where their AI streamlines the things that normally eat up their time, letting teams generate, organize and deliver work faster. In fact, with Confluence, teams can see a 5.2% average boost in productivity in one year. So goodbye severed workplace alienation. Hello teamwork with Confluence. Set knowledge free with Confluence. Learn more at atlassian.com confluence that's Atlanta l a s s I-a n.com c o n f l u e dash n c e.

[Adam Scott]

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[Ben Stiller]

So getting Zach to the Dylan storyline. I mean, you basically come back wondering what happened, right? Because you put in your resignation request and feeling so heartsick and not wanting to be around without being able to be with Gretchen. And then Milchick shows you this response you got from your Audi. He writes you this note Dear Inny.

[Zach Cherry]

I've read your request and organized my response into three points. Fuck you. Gretchen is my wife and my beloved. And your actions with her were deeply fucking indifferent. Decorous. Point two, I get it. She's perfect. And given our shared physiology, it tracks that. You'd agree. Here's the thing. I've never been an impressive person. So when Gretch told me that you're like this self assured badass, I don't know, it stung. So I guess point three is I hope someday she sees in me what she sees in you.

[Ben Stiller]

How is that for you? That experience of playing that scene and Dylan sort of, of finally connecting, at least in some way with his Audi.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah, it was interesting. And I think Dylan's innie and outtie, they actually have like kind of a shared set of goals that they figure out as the season goes on, which is like being the best version of themselves. And they see things in each other that they kind of want to have. You know, like the innie sees stuff in the Audi he wants in the outy, sees stuff in the innie that he wants. And I think for them, luckily there isn't this. Their love triangle is with the same person. So there isn't as much of a kind of like tension of like, who are we going to choose? Because they both love Gretchen, so they're kind of able to reach this understanding of like, hey, you know, I kind of need you down there because I can't really do what you do. And also you have reminded Gretchen of these things that I used to be. And so maybe I can kind of rediscover that a little bit. And then, you know, the innie also reaches this conclusion of like, there is part of me that is helping out there. And so even if I can't directly be a part of this relationship with Gretchen, I can kind of like contribute in the ways that I have been. And also I can kind of maybe help this Audi get back a little bit of his, of his groove, I guess. And I do think it was interesting also for me, over the course of the season they became a little more alike. Like the innie moved a little towards the Audi and the Audi moved a little towards the innie. And this is kind of that final moment where they kind of both realize.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, I feel like, you know, that coming together of the innie and the outtie is something that's very unique to Dylan in this season of the show. And I feel like for me was really interesting to see explored not having to have this huge delineation between an innie and an outie. And obviously the realization for Innie Dillon that he's not, you know, this big famous person on the outside or his life isn't better than his life is on the inside. And the empathy that he ends up having for his Audi through his shared love of his wife. I also love that we have the one moment in the show where Dylan takes off his glasses.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

I don't know if you've done that on Fallout or not, but I'm just wondering is, have you taken the glasses off in other shows?

[Adam Scott]

Not.

[Zach Cherry]

Not a ton. Honestly, not a ton. Yeah, that might be a first. That might be a first in terms of actually taking them off. I've done, like, one job where I didn't wear them at all.

[Ben Stiller]

Really?

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

You didn't have glasses at all, Is that what you're saying?

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah, I didn't wear glasses at all, but I didn't take them off in a scene, so. Yeah, you're right.

[Ben Stiller]

Well, that was pretty exciting.

[Britt Lauer]

Zach, I have a question for you.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah.

[Britt Lauer]

Zach, was that your handwriting in the letter?

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah, that was my handwriting.

[Britt Lauer]

I think that's one of my favorite parts about it. I can feel, like your character in your handwriting.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Did you do that on purpose?

[Zach Cherry]

It was sort of just my handwriting. It wasn't a major character choice for the handwriting. But I think the way we shot it, there were some times where you were actually seeing me write it, so they just had me kind of do it over and over. But it was nice to have that there. And now, you know, my sort of elementary school teachers, if they're watching, they can kind of see that I've made no progress. And then I still have the same style that I had when I first learned the craft.

[Adam Scott]

I really love that. When we're hearing you read the letter, we're seeing images from your Audi's life too.

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah, it's like a love letter. Really? It's like a love letter to yourself. So beautiful.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, to yourself. So then you guys, Mark and Helly, they get to mdr and it's all, like, scary green lighting and the Kerrigan statue, and basically you're gonna complete the file and Heli is gonna watch and. And you guys. I mean, you have these final scenes together as Mark is headed towards completing the file of not knowing what's going to happen, except that, you know, that, you know, you have to do something.

[Britt Lauer]

But if you get her out, maybe that will take down Lumen like his.

[Ben Stiller]

Sister said.

[Britt Lauer]

And maybe you could do this combining thing.

[Adam Scott]

Well, yeah, but he could Be a total liar.

[Ben Stiller]

What if he's not least you'll have.

[Britt Lauer]

A chance at living.

[Dari Olufsen]

Yeah, but I want to live with you.

[Ben Stiller]

You know, there's so much beneath what's going on between the two of you there. And I think you guys did a beautiful job with that scene. And how was that shooting that for you guys?

[Britt Lauer]

I remember it being just a really kind of emotional day. Firstly, the lights were low and were very rarely in the dark in mdr. So it already created this mood of, you know, like there was sort of an ending coming. And I think we'd been working on the show for like four or five years and in this room that we've had so many scenes, so many memories in. And I remember at one point, Ben, you came to give me a note. It was like in the. In a very quiet part of the scene and your eyes were welling up and it choked me up to see.

[Ben Stiller]

I was getting choked up watching what you guys were doing. Cause it was very emotional.

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah. And then it had this like knock on effect. Like I couldn't, like I couldn't stop crying. And just looking across just that environment and feeling this was essentially like a by scene. It was really emotional.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, really emotional. And you guys, you know the scene of Zach of you in the room reading the letter and then the two of you having this sort of final conversation. It was really. And you guys were just doing such good work. I mean, like you said, there was a lot of history there already built into it, but that we're finally at this moment of shooting this scene.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, I remember just being, you know, it's so sad that these two have to do this. Like there's really no other choice. And I remember I'm looking at the computer screen finally looking over at you, Britt, and you were just a wreck when I finally looked over at you. And it was so sad. And I felt like we were just really connected. And it was towards the end of shooting and so we were all just really in it. We were just in the show and it was our whole lives. We were just there all the time, all of us. And so this really meant a lot. This moment was a. It was a big moment. We have to fucking say goodbye. And it was super sad.

[Britt Lauer]

I think it was like time traveling for me. It was like traveling back in time and forward in time at the same time. Like imagining the first scene we ever shot in MDR and then time traveling and imagining the last scene that we'll ever shoot in mdr, whenever that may be. And then, you know, it's like, oh, My gosh, I'm 16, and now I'm my age, and now I'm 70. And, you know, just feeling that kind of timelessness that was, like, baked into the writing.

[Ben Stiller]

That's actually the timeline that I've had working on the show from 16 to 70 to 70. And then basically the lights go down, you finish the file, and the smoke comes out of the Ensign mdr, the serious Alan Parsons project. SONG PLAYS Revel now in the fruit of your labors, and hail your earthbound steward, your very own floor manager.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, just.

[Zach Cherry]

I also. I did want to say, when Tramiel runs out of the room after leaving the letter with Dylan, that's one of the funniest moments of the show for me. He just sprints out of there. That made me laugh really hard.

[Ben Stiller]

It was. I think he only did it. I think he only did it one take. It was the first take that we used because the camera doesn't even know that he's gonna do that. And he just runs out.

[Zach Cherry]

It's so good.

[Ben Stiller]

It's really funny because, you know, he's late and he's got a lot to do on this day, and he's gotta get ready for the. The celebration.

[Zach Cherry]

He has to change and. Yeah, he's got.

[Ben Stiller]

He's got to change into his band. Marching band.

[Adam Scott]

And he's excited. He finally got rid of Ms. Wong. Like, this place is his and he gets to do.

[Ben Stiller]

Except he is feeling. I mean, look, it is post the Drummond scene in 209, and he's definitely feeling a lot of conflicting feelings towards the company, I think. And that's why the. The comedy act with the Cure statue doesn't really go probably as planned. It's an honor to receive your barbs, Mr. Egan. The legacy you've left behind is truly and irrefutably larger than life.

[Adam Scott]

You mean my company?

[Zach Cherry]

No.

[Ben Stiller]

I mean this wax statue that's five inches taller than you actually were. Thank you for that feedback, Seth.

[Britt Lauer]

Ben, you got to be the animatronic, right? Does everyone know that?

[Ben Stiller]

Well, I got to. Yeah. Doug Coleman, our special effects supervisor, made a remote control for that Animatron. And I love animatrons. I grew up, like, to go visit Disneyland, hall of Presidents, so anything with an Animatron makes me happy. And he had the remote control that controlled the arms and the neck, the turns, and so I would do the remote control. But then we had Mark Geller, who is Keir Egan on set, reading with Tramiel. So he Was doing the line so he could get the timing. And Tramiel just played that scene with. So there's just so much going on underneath.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, one of my favorite things to watch. Cause we watched him do it many, many times. Him losing his patience a little bit with the animatronic doll. And it poking fun at him was not landing particularly well with Milchick. Him trying to cover that up and just continue on. It's so specific and so good.

[Ben Stiller]

It was also fun shooting your reactions to it. Just watching you guys have to kind of assimilate and kind of take in this weird reality after that, which was.

[Britt Lauer]

Really hard to act because it was actually super funny and interesting. And we had to pretend it was terrifying.

[Ben Stiller]

How many times have you had to do that? That reaction in the show of, like, what the fuck is going on? And then, you know, he has to cart off the statue because it's not over. Because the final celebration moment is going to be the marching band choreography and merriment. And this was probably the most daunting idea for us to, like, put, you know, 100 marching band people in MDR and just like, what would that even feel like? What would that reality be? In a way, it's sort of like, you know, like in Citizen Kane, there was, like a whole marching band scene. And, like, I've been a huge. I'm a fan of that movie Drumline, that Nick Cannon movie.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

I could watch that all day. I just love it. That was a really exciting idea. And then we put together this marching band.

[Adam Scott]

It's so good.

[Ben Stiller]

But we had to really figure this thing out. I mean, it was crazy shooting it. And Tramiel, once again, can do anything. Busting out the moves, his moves. And he's such a. An instinctual actor. It was so interesting for me to watch him work with a choreographer and then for him to, like, he just sort of owned these moves.

[Adam Scott]

But also him having that baton and him having that to work with was really fun, too.

[Ben Stiller]

And then you guys had to sort of be intimidated by this marching band, too.

[Adam Scott]

But the marching band, was it, like, five days. They were working with us there. They were there a while.

[Britt Lauer]

They were incredible.

[Adam Scott]

Incredible.

[Ben Stiller]

We had to figure out what the choreography was, of course, how to shoot it, like, try to figure out how to make it feel claustrophobic and all that. But I do remember we had to basically build an MDR set on another stage that had no ceiling so that we could put the camera way up high to get the overhead when they put up the cards. That say mark 100%.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Ben Stiller]

That nobody sees.

[Adam Scott]

And then the hallways, those narrow hallways, and you shooting them, marching down the hallways.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, that was experimenting. Like, how many, you know, tubas can we fit in the hallway? Or how many, you know, for me, also, like, one of my favorite moments, two moments. In that scene at the end, are you, Brit, when you have to get up on the desk and really basically start to rally the troops? Almost literally, yeah.

[Britt Lauer]

This desk used to have four seats. Our friend Irving is gone, and they want our whole department gone. If he gets out, we're dead. They're gonna turn us off like fucking machines. You've seen them do it. I know you've lost friends, too. And you could be next.

[Ben Stiller]

You could be nice.

[Britt Lauer]

They give us half a life and think we won't fight for it. Right, Milchick?

[Adam Scott]

Your speech is so good. It's so good.

[Ben Stiller]

And that moment when the lights go off and the alarm turns on, and that moment where, helly, you know, that the plan has gone through and that he's reached her.

[Britt Lauer]

Right. I think, you know, the way that speech is written is that she's remembering Irving as she's standing on the desk. She's like, our friend is gone. And, you know, in the process of that, I think she kind of discovers this argument, which is like, they're giving us half a life. Why shouldn't we fight for it?

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Well, you do.

[Ben Stiller]

You bring it back to friendship. Because Irving, you're bringing up Irving. And Dylan, after reading that letter, is sort of motivated, right, to come back, and it's like. Like, the group kind of comes back together there, and you have that heroic moment of pushing the vending machine in front of the door.

[Britt Lauer]

I loved that when he came in and saved the day.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah.

[Adam Scott]

Dylan's like Han Solo.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah. That's what I've been modeling. The character after the entire show is Han Solo. So it was nice to finally get that moment. But I do think, you know, this season, Dylan kind of is isolated, and he has neglected his connections with the MDR folks. And then he reads that letter, and he kind of decides, well, I'm gonna be here, so if I'm gonna be here, let me get back to my friends and, like, be in here with them.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Ben Stiller]

Can I ask you guys what you thought this whole revelation of what Cold harbor is, you know, what they're doing to Gemma down there, and that scene where she has to go in and try to dissemble the crib, how did that resonate with you?

[Zach Cherry]

To me, it felt like they've been testing out this process of severance, and then. And they put this moment in front of her that is tied to, like, one of the most emotional and, like, hard moments of her life. And so this is kind of the final test of will. Even a memory and emotion that strong break through.

[Adam Scott]

I'm your husband. Okay. Your name is Jamasky. Out. We've been married for four years. No, we were. We had a life together.

[Ben Stiller]

Don't speak to that man. He's here to hurt you.

[Adam Scott]

And if you come with me right now, we can get it back.

[Britt Lauer]

It was just so satisfying to see Gemma escape this hell that she's been in for two years. To see her be on the other side of that door. That was so satisfying.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah.

[Zach Cherry]

And the moment when she, as Gemma, first sees Mark. As Mark.

[Britt Lauer]

Totally.

[Zach Cherry]

Also incredibly satisfying.

[Britt Lauer]

So beautiful.

[Zach Cherry]

Especially after watching episode seven and seeing kind of what she had gone through and that level of isolation. But she still always was thinking of Mark, so. So that moment where Gemma and Audie. Mark got to briefly kind of see each other in that floor was very, very satisfying.

[Ben Stiller]

And then we get the end where Inymark dashes Audi. Mark's dreams and his plan and probably a lot of the audience's desire, too, I think. How did you guys feel about that?

[Zach Cherry]

I think seeing the way Deechen, as Gemma reacted to it was so impactful in terms of, like, the confusion and the hurt and, you know. Cause she's not aware of all this additional context. She's just like, what is ha. Like, why is my.

[Adam Scott]

That's my husband.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah, that's my husband. Why is he not coming out here with me? So that really drove it through in a way that I didn't necessarily expect to feel that much about that moment, because I knew it was coming. But seeing the way she was reacting really did make that powerful.

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah. I mean, I think Helle is also, for the first time, experiencing how Gemma feels about Mark. She gets to see that firsthand. And. And there's kind of a last moment where she lingers as Mark is pulling her away. And I think it's this moment of understanding and connection with Gemma that I think is really important.

[Ben Stiller]

Interesting. Cause I feel like you could interpret that look in different ways, too. The last look to Gemma.

[Britt Lauer]

I mean, it's a complex moment. There's kind of this reckoning with one another, like a connection across the hallway.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, for sure. And then you guys running down that hallway at the end. We had this one hallway set up where Britt And Adam had to kind of run with the camera running in front of them for this final shot. And we were shooting it in super slow motion. So you're running, obviously regular speed, and you had to kind of go through the. I mean, do you want to talk about, like, what the range of emotions you went through in that shot?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, you really wanted us to. I remember we did it a few times and you wanted us to cycle through a bunch of different, like, feelings as we were running.

[Britt Lauer]

Well, there's the literal fact that Heli knows, which is like. Like, maybe we have this whole band on our side. Maybe we have all of these people who can help us. And then again, I think Heli is really carrying the heartbreak that she just saw on Gemma's face. And I'm sure any Mark is too. Even though they're kind of like these wild horses running through the hallways, there's still this, like, oh, what we've just done has an effect.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. And then it's just the question of where you're going to, like.

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, that's the. I kind of felt like it was just so exciting to be with Heli and to just be running. But then I felt like during the run is where kind of occurs to them or to Mark. Like, I'm not sure exactly where to go and what the hell we're gonna do. Which is a really fun place to end the season, you know? Ben, what's that? How did you come upon that song? The song that you use for the.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah, it's Windmills of youf Mind performed by Mel Torme.

[Britt Lauer]

So good.

[Ben Stiller]

You know, it was on my episode 210 end song playlist of just, like, ideas for songs that we could play because we knew that that was what the image we wanted it to be at the end, you know, from the beginning was this freeze frame that I had in my head. Like, oh, yeah, let's do this freeze frame. It's like weirdly romantic but scary moment. And then we're going to like do kind of a 70s freeze frame ending or even 60s freeze frame. You know, like so many movies used to do that in a really interesting way where you're just like, wow, you're just stuck in this moment and like, what's gonna happen?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah. In the scene when I'm like, at the door and Helly appears and kind of going back and forth. That was always the end point for the season. Right. From long ago. It was always.

[Ben Stiller]

That was always. We knew we were headed there, but.

[Adam Scott]

I remember also, and this is interesting to think about now that at one point was to end the season before the choice is made.

[Britt Lauer]

That's right.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah. Early on, we thought about maybe we'll have you in the middle of the hallway there, looking at Gemma, looking at Helly, and that would be the end. But it really felt clear to me, and I think to Dan and you as we started to talk about it, that we didn't want to end on another cliffhanger like that.

[Adam Scott]

It would feel like we're trying to beat the first season.

[Ben Stiller]

One thing that was the goal of this episode for me was to try to do something totally different than last season's finale, because that was something that people specifically keyed in on. I feel like that episode is so much a result of the writing of the first season and all the threads that are coming together there, because it's a pretty simple episode in terms of what goes on. And this one, I felt like we wanted to make it more of, like, its own thing in terms of what the ride was. So that was something we were intentionally trying to do.

[Adam Scott]

I mean, I really miss making the show. I can't wait till we get to go back to it.

[Zach Cherry]

Me too.

[Adam Scott]

I miss seeing you guys every day, and it's so fun making the show.

[Ben Stiller]

Yeah.

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah, totally.

[Ben Stiller]

Now we're gonna go to the end of the episode event that we've all been talking about, which is Zach Cherry's favorite segment of the episode, where he predicts what will happen next on Severance. Zach, you haven't really gotten anything right at all this season, so I'm hoping that you.

[Zach Cherry]

That's sort of open to interpretation.

[Adam Scott]

And now you have to predict what happens next season on Sever.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah, we'll probably have to cut it because it'll. It's gonna be so spot on.

[Ben Stiller]

Let's listen to it. Let's hear what the great Nostradamus Zackstradamus has to say.

[Zach Cherry]

Hi, Adam. Hi, Ben. Wow, the season finale. That was another humdinger. Thanks for teaching me that word, Ben. You know, I just wanted to make sure I check in with you, Ben and Adam. I realize I've been. I've been so caught up in my own thing of predicting what happens next. I haven't been asking you what's happening with you. So if you guys want to take a second to just sort of share how you're feeling about anything you want, you can go ahead and do that. Okay, that's enough time. All right, now let's talk about next season on Severance. Next season on Severance. So our characters, they've put themselves into another picture. You know, they're in open rebellion. There's a marching band hanging out with them. Any Mark and Helly are running down the halls. Who knows what's gonna happen next? Well, obviously I do. And this time I mean it. Mark and Helly are running down that hallway and they are never going to stop. They're just gonna keep running and running and running and they're going to really show what humanity is capable of and set new records for the marathon, the mile, and the ultramarathon. And, you know, runners are really dedicated community. They're not going to just let that slide. They're going to find out about this, and the running community is going to come to the Innies aid and get them out of there so that their champions and their heroes can do what they were meant to do, which is run free. So that's right. Next season on Severance, we're going to mostly be focusing on the ultra marathon and marathon running community. And I know that sounds strange, but when you see it, it's gonna make total sense. Adam, I just wanted to say a few weeks ago I said that the first movie I ever saw was Meet the Parents starring Ben Stiller, and that's not true. The first movie I ever saw was Torque, starring Adam Scott, and I saw it when I was 19 years old. All right, sorry, everyone. And talk to you next season.

[Ben Stiller]

Oh, wow.

[Adam Scott]

You didn't see a movie till you were 19?

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah, but that was the first one I saw and it made me love movies, cinema.

[Adam Scott]

Wait, Torque?

[Ben Stiller]

Is that like an action movie or something?

[Adam Scott]

It's a motorcycle movie with me and Ice Cube and many others.

[Ben Stiller]

IMDb lips just. It just keeps giving and giving.

[Adam Scott]

It's like.

[Ben Stiller]

It's crazy how many things you've been in.

[Adam Scott]

Star Trek V and Torque is another. Another stop on the road, my friend.

[Ben Stiller]

Are you a motorcycle racer?

[Adam Scott]

No, I'm the FBI agent McPherson.

[Ben Stiller]

McPherson?

[Adam Scott]

Yeah, McPherson. I complain about the coffee and stuff.

[Ben Stiller]

So basically, season three is Severance Running free. That's the subtitle.

[Adam Scott]

Just us running the entire season is what I imagine.

[Britt Lauer]

How about that?

[Adam Scott]

Sounds terrible.

[Ben Stiller]

When we pick up season three, you have a long beard and less of a baseball cap, and you're just running. And so does Helly.

[Britt Lauer]

Yeah, I want a beard, too, please.

[Adam Scott]

You'll get a beard.

[Britt Lauer]

Okay, good.

[Adam Scott]

Do you have any predictions for season three?

[Britt Lauer]

Everyone gets haircuts.

[Adam Scott]

Oh, yeah, That's a good idea.

[Britt Lauer]

Wait, you know what I really want to see, actually, this is true. Well, I do want to see the haircuts, that is true. But I also want to see all of us. Us play instruments. I want to see Ben play the drums. I'm gonna bring my trumpet because I used to march in the marching band. Tramel plays, like, something. He plays, like, the saxophone or something. Yeah.

[Zach Cherry]

All right.

[Ben Stiller]

Zach, what do you play?

[Zach Cherry]

Recorder. I play the recorder.

[Adam Scott]

No, you don't.

[Zach Cherry]

I did.

[Britt Lauer]

Adam plays the flute.

[Ben Stiller]

Adam, you play the flute?

[Adam Scott]

I wish I played the.

[Ben Stiller]

It is weird we don't have, like, a jam band type of thing after all these things.

[Adam Scott]

It's weird that we don't have that.

[Zach Cherry]

Yeah, you assume that it's weird that.

[Adam Scott]

We don't have a band.

[Zach Cherry]

You guys, number of years you eventually arrive at that.

[Ben Stiller]

Doesn't that always happen on TV series? Hey, we have. We have one hotline call we want to play before we let you guys go. Pretty interesting. So let's play it.

[Zach Cherry]

Hey, this is Alan. I was told to call this number.

[Ben Stiller]

Talk about dental hygiene.

[Zach Cherry]

And, I mean, look, obviously we all.

[Ben Stiller]

Know dental hygiene is, like, super crazy.

[Zach Cherry]

Important, but, like, what I don't understand is why is it that there's nothing.

[Ben Stiller]

I can do to remove. Remove plaque from my teeth?

[Zach Cherry]

I mean, I, like, look, I do all the stuff, right?

[Ben Stiller]

I do all the stuff I'm supposed to do. I brush my teeth, I floss, I do all that jazz.

[Zach Cherry]

And then every time I go to the dentist, there's just more plaque on my teeth.

[Ben Stiller]

And it's like, look, I don't expect.

[Zach Cherry]

To see a hit at home and.

[Ben Stiller]

Like, chisel away at it, but, I.

[Zach Cherry]

Mean, there's gotta be something I can do.

[Adam Scott]

A pill or, like, some gum.

[Ben Stiller]

I don't know.

[Adam Scott]

I mean, look, all right, that's all thanks to you, Zach.

[Zach Cherry]

Thank you, Alan.

[Britt Lauer]

That was awesome.

[Ben Stiller]

Wow. First of all, I'd say dental hygiene is connected to mental hygiene. So start there. Right?

[Britt Lauer]

Wow, that's so important.

[Ben Stiller]

You have to have the right outlook first. What's your attitude towards plaque and your relationship with your own plaque? And what is it that's binding you to your own plaque that you can't let it go?

[Adam Scott]

I think he said at one point plaque and all that jazz, which I appreciate.

[Ben Stiller]

He must have had the wrong number, this guy.

[Adam Scott]

We. We should put Zach's phone number at the end of this podcast.

[Britt Lauer]

We should put Zach's phone number at dental offices.

[Zach Cherry]

Totally. Yeah. Everyone, the listening community, if you are at your dentist office, please write down my phone number and just put it in the waiting room. And I'd Love to hear from anyone.

[Adam Scott]

All right, that is it for this episode. The season may be over, but the Severance podcast with Ben and Adam will be back next week for a big bonus episode.

[Ben Stiller]

That's right.

[Adam Scott]

To unpack all of season two with some very special guests.

[Ben Stiller]

Very exciting. You guys are special guests.

[Adam Scott]

That's right.

[Britt Lauer]

Thanks for having us.

[Ben Stiller]

You guys are awesome.

[Britt Lauer]

Well, listen in on soup and smoothies next time.

[Adam Scott]

Soup and Smoothies.

[Ben Stiller]

And Zach, maybe next season read the scripts or not.

[Zach Cherry]

We can talk about that.

[Ben Stiller]

Okay, cool.

[Adam Scott]

The Severance podcast with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott is a presentation of Odyssey, Pineapple Street Studios, Redhour Productions and Great Scott Productions.

[Ben Stiller]

If you like the show, be sure to rate and review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, the Odyssey app or your other podcast platform of choice. Our executive producers are Bari Finkel, Henry Malofsky, Gabrielle Lewis, Jenner Weiss Berman and Leah Rees Dennis. This show is produced by Zandra Ellen, Ben Goldberg and Naomi Scott. This episode was mixed and mastered by Chris Basil. We had additional engineering from Javi Krustas and Davy Sumner.

[Adam Scott]

Show clips are courtesy of fifth season music by Theodore Shapiro. Special thanks to the team at Odyssey, Maura Curran, Eric Donnelly, Michael Lavey, Melissa Wester, Matt Casey, Kate Rose, Kirk, Courtney and Hilary Schuff.

[Ben Stiller]

And the team at Red, John Lesher, Carolina Pesachov, John Pablo Antonetti, Martin Balderrutin, Ashwin Ramesh, Maria Noto, John Baker and Oliver Agar.

[Adam Scott]

Anit Great Scott, Kevin Cotter, Josh Martin and Christy Smith.

[Ben Stiller]

At Rise Management, we had additional production help from Kristen Torres and Melissa Slaughter. I'm Ben Stiller.

[Adam Scott]

And I'm Adam Scott.

[Ben Stiller]

Thanks, everybody.

[Adam Scott]

Thanks, you guys.

[Zach Cherry]

By.