Severance and Pluribus have a few minor things in common. They are both science fiction shows produced by Apple TV whose stories involve some sort of mind control. They both have nine episodes in their first seasons, serial story lines, gay characters, and oddly enough, baby goats as part of the story.
Offhand, I don't find either premise believable. Pluribus is about a world hive-mind caused by an alien virus. Severance is about a form of corporate mind control where a person's work memories are artificially separated from their non-work memories, so people don't remember their jobs when they leave the office, and likewise they don't remember their outside lives when they are working. Although Pluribus is very unlikely to happen, Severance makes even less sense to me, because this would be a very impractical way to manage a workforce.
Pluribus could be interpreted as a metaphor for many things, such as AI, social media, the Internet, communism, or a religious cult. It is a very layered show.
Severance isn't as layered and doesn't hide its religious cult references, but instead makes them very clear. There are parallels with multiple cults, but in particular the show reminds me of Scientology. It is also anti-corporate, as its characters work in a very sterile environment with ridiculously long white hallways that seem to go on forever. The company treats the employees like slaves with little regard for their human rights or their sanity. One of the side characters writes a book reminiscent of The Communist Manifesto attacking the way people have to work, so maybe the show is a satire on corporate life. The series is portrayed as a weird kind of Hell.
Severance depends on cliffhangers at the end of each episode to keep the audience watching. The nine episodes are one continuous story with each episode picking up where the last one left off. This caused me to binge-watch the first season because those cliffhangers are very effective; they make you want to see what happens next. Whereas Pluribus tells you what is happening right away, Severance keeps the audience in the dark, which is another way the show is addictive.
Although Pluribus also has cliffhangers, the individual episodes are more self contained with stories that mostly resolve by the end of each episode. Severance takes place in a very limited corporate environment giving the viewer a sense of confinement, but Pluribus covers enough locations to make the story feel global.
Severance is a good show, but Pluribus is better in every regard. The acting, the story, and the cinematography are all fantastic.
Pluribus cost around $15 million per episode to make, but Severance cost around $20 million per episode.
Check out my Pluribus playlist!
