mark and gemma updates

Adam Scott and Dichen Lachman on set of Severance S02E07 ‘Chikhai Bardo’ (via Ben Stiller)

#AdamScott and Tramell Tillman as Lorne in #Severance Season 3? We’re in. #tv #drama #emmys #shorts

Full THR Drama Actor Roundtable: Diego Luna, Cooper Koch, Walton Goggins, Adam Scott & More Adam Scott ('Severance'), Cooper Koch ('Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story'), Diego Luna ('Andor,' 'La Máquina'), Eddie Redmayne ('The Day of the Jackal'), Jeffrey Wright ('The Agency,' 'The Last of Us') and Walton Goggins ('The White Lotus.' 'The Righteous Gemstones') join THR in Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter.

Jessica Lee Gagné: But honestly, there was never going to be another moment to do that. We’re talking about the past. And the challenge with seven where the amount of things that needed to move through that episode, and they kind of needed their own episode because you needed the viewer to be focused enough on this specific thing. If we would’ve thrown little things here and there, I don’t think it wouldn’t have worked. Well, who knows? Maybe there was another way of doing it, but it deserved its own moment. And the character of Gemma deserved her own episode as well, because basically what happened to her is what created this life for Mark or where he is now. But yeah, it was tricky. I worked with a writer, Mark Friedman to try and help him figure out how to piece it all together, and he had these storylines and things that he knew he wanted to move through, and he wanted it to feel like a whirlwind. So he came to me for help with the transitions and to how to piece it together. And we kind of just went off intuition and just ideas that would come up, and it found its own self in the end. But yeah, I think being open to that process. Also, one thing that’s amazing of working on a show like Severance is you’re kind of protected by Apple in a way. I think they really believe in this show. So they were giving us a lot of space, and I think that that led us to going where we did because it wasn’t out of you need to fit in a box. It was more just, and the trust between Ben and I think was really helpful. He really trusted me. Yeah, I kind of forgot that it was for an audience sometimes. Jessica Lee Gagné: But in one challenge in this episode was justifying her state of mind in the suite room. When I say her suite, I’m talking about where she’s staying in that little, in that green car… Ayla Ruby: Before she goes into the torture chambers? Jessica Lee Gagné: Yes, exactly. Her suite where she’s given all these toys and things that she can do anyways. No. So in that place, you kind of have to understand why this woman, why is she even still alive? Why is she even holding on to anything? And I think we find her in this episode in a state of hope. She’s kind of has this weird feeling. Has she just been dreaming about Mark? Is she connecting here? She’s connecting him. Why is he in her mind right now? And what’s funny is that it’s not funny. What’s interesting is that Mark is reintegrating, so you can kind of make that connection that they’re meeting in this liminal space that exists in the subconscious where we can connect with other people. Where are the boundaries of us is not there anymore. I feel that’s my interpretation of it. I mean, I think everyone has different interpretations of it, but that is what’s triggering her to get to the point of hitting this guy. First of all, everything that’s happening in that Christmas room is pretty traumatizing as well. And she has a ring and all of that, but it’s the thing that’s going to push her back to trying in this desperate act of leaving.

Severance — Dichen's Casting Tape | Apple TV+ Dichen Lachman’s original casting tape for the role of “Ms. Casey.” Severance Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+

"This video shows my very first audition," Lachman tells EW. "As you can imagine, the secrets of Ms. Casey and Gemma at this point were closely guarded, so I had very little context for the characters when I began reading." Lachman worked closely with the show’s casting director, Rachel Tenner, during the audition to figure out how to portray this mysterious character. "Rachel was so helpful and so generous with her time, talking me through as much as she could, so I’d be able to find even the tiniest window into the world and approximate what this character might sound like," Lachman says. Tenner says she had been given scripts in advance, so she knew more about the story than others during the audition process. That said, casting Ms. Casey was "really difficult." "We were trying to navigate this odd, complicated character without giving away too much of the story that was about to unfold," the casting director tells EW. "When I saw Dichen's audition, it was undeniable that she had exactly what we needed. She had beauty, mystery, complexity, and her instincts were on point from the very beginning. She felt different from everyone else and tonally was a wonderful match." It wasn't until Lachman landed the role that she finally started to understand who Ms. Casey was. "Once I got the job, I finally read all of the scripts and had conversations with [creator] Dan [Erickson]," Lachman says. "And that’s when everything began to change for me in terms of where Ms. Casey, and by extension Gemma, was coming from internally." It took a long time and a lot of work, but Lachman ultimately found the final version of the character when it was time to begin filming. "Ms. Casey’s voice especially started to take shape once we got on set," Lachman says. "It’s not Gemma's voice, but there are aspects of her that had to trickle through Ms. Casey. [Executive producer] Ben [Stiller] was key to dialing into what was needed in terms of tone. John Turturro was an incredible first scene partner, and after that day, I think we all knew how she would fit into the world of Lumon." Watching Lachman make Ms. Casey (and Gemma!) her own throughout filming the first two seasons has impressed the casting director, especially knowing where it all started in the audition process. "I loved watching how much warmth, vulnerability, and naiveté Dichen brought to Ms. Casey over the course of filming," Tenner says. "I think in her initial read, she was much more austere and almost practical in her efficiency, but she ultimately brought something truly unique and open and lovely to the role. I loved watching the cast react to this strange bird in their midst."

Within the sterile world of Severance, where characters work for a shadowy corporation and have their brains “severed” from their real selves while at work, the camera often has to mimic the smooth, frictionless vibe of its production design. Not so in the second season’s standout seventh episode “Chikhai Bardo,” which featured flashbacks to the marriage of Mark (Adam Scott) and Gemma (Dichen Lachman) before Lumon interfered and pulled them apart. Jessica Lee Gagné, the cinematographer for the series, made her directorial debut with the episode, and told me she relished the opportunity to break all of the rules she had set for the look of the series. “In season one, I was very protective of the look of the show. I didn’t want to work with other cinematographers. I just wanted to make sure that it had a very strong cinematic language,” Gagné told me in a recent phone call. Reading the script for “Chikhai Bardo,” though, Gagné saw the potential for opening up “this whole new world. And I was like, I want to be the one to help bring that to life.” Captured on 35mm film, as opposed to the digital cameras used in the rest of the series, the flashbacks in “Chikhai Bardo” are full of natural light, greenery and the loving energy of Mark and Gemma’s life together. They filmed in the actual house that Gagné had rented during the shoot, and in down moments she would use a small Bolex camera to capture small details of life — flowers, the moon, animals passing through the garden — that became part of a montage of their relationship. “We approached it with a different energy and a different mindset,” Gagné says of the “Chikhai Bardo” shoot, which allowed the entire crew to escape the sometimes-isolating sets inside Lumon. “People were just relaxing on set. It was spring, it wasn’t cold. People could actually hang out in the gorgeous yard. It had a different feeling.”

Cast Conversation for ‘Severance’ | Conversations at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Actors John Turturro (‘The Big Lebowski,’ ‘Barton Fink’), Dichen Lachman (‘Dollhouse,’ ‘Altered Carbon’), Jen Tullock (‘Dollhouse,’ ‘Spirited’) and Michael Chernus (‘Orange is the New Black,’ ‘Dear Ringers’) share stories and insight from their performances in ‘Severance,’ moderated by Josh Horowitz. This interview is part of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Conversations series, an essential resource for actors, featuring leading actors and casts sharing their experiences, insights and craft.

Season 2 of Severance follows Mark Scout (Adam Scott) in his efforts to rescue his wife, Gemma (Dichen Lachman), from Lumon Industries — the company that carries out the surgical splitting of individuals' memories of their private and professional lives. Gagné shot six of the season's 10 episodes, and also served as a producer, as well as the director of Episode 7, "Chikhai Bardo."

‘Severance’ Cinematographer/Producer/Director Jessica Lee Gagné breaks down “Chikhai Bardo” episode

Adam Scott with Walton Goggins, Diego Luna, Eddie Redmayne, Jeffrey Wright and Cooper Koch for The Hollywood Reporters' Drama Actor Emmy Roundtable (Beau Grealy)

SCOTT I feel the same way with Severance. People who come up and want to talk about Severance are really interested. What do they typically say? SCOTT Mostly it’s how much they love it, and who they watch it with is really important. And it’s great because when we first made the show, we figured it was so weird, it would just be ignored. We never thought it would connect the way it’s connected, so when people come up and want to talk about it, I love it. And people are so smart and invested, and it being on TV, it’s really ingrained into their lives in a different way, and there’s a comfortability that’s really lovely. REDMAYNE Do they give you plot suggestions? SCOTT Oh, yeah!

TV’s Top Directors: ‘Good American Family,’ ‘Severance,’ ‘Zero Day’ & ‘The Pitt’ In this bonus episode of The Ankler podcast, the second of two recorded live on May 18 at L.A.'s DGA Theater, The Ankler and the Directors Guild of America bring you a series of insightful and memorable conversations — presented by Threads — about the art of directing for television. You’ll hear Lesley Goldberg’s interview with Liz Garbus, who directed the pilot and the pivotal fifth episode of Hulu’s limited series “Good American Family,” and Elaine Low’s conversation with Jessica Lee Gagné, who made her directing debut on the second season of Apple TV+’s “Severance.” Katey Rich leads two Q&As — one with DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter, who helmed all six episodes of Netflix’s political thriller “Zero Day,” and a second with Damian Marcano and Amanda Marsalis, who each directed four episodes of HBO Max’s medical drama “The Pitt.” In addition to unpacking their process and craft, these five pros also share advice with the live audience about how to build a career as a director. “Be very drunk in yourself,” Marcano tells the crowd. “Don’t rob us of what you have to offer.”

Severance (Season Two) with Set Decorator David Schlesinger Today we welcome Set Decorator David Schlesinger who join us to about their work on Severance Season 2. David will talk us through what the creative process of decorating the sets for the Inie and Outie worlds.

Why was each car chosen for its character? Mark Scout (Adam Scott), the show’s main character, is a safe, sensible guy, so they gave him a ’90s Volvo—a safe, sensible sedan with sharp lines and boxy styling. It also wasn’t lost on the producers that Mark lost his wife to a car accident, so he’d likely want to own a safe car. “We started gravitating, and Ben started gravitating towards this idea of a Volvo. Yeah, you know. We all remember that ad. It’s boxy but safe, and we just kind of gravitated towards that,” said Miller.