Fans of Apple TV+'s Severance may have noticed that it always seems to be winter in the show–but there's a logical reason.
The psychological sci-fi series follows the lives of "severed" employees at the Lumon corporation, who split their memories into work and personal ones. Adam Scott leads the series in a transformative role, alongside Britt Lower, John Turturro, and Zach Cherry.
While Severance seemingly takes place in the same world as the present one, some odd things, like old cars, make the show feel distinctly different.
Why Severance Takes Place During Winter
Severance is a winter-time show, as evidenced by the multiple shots of snow and ice around the town and the warm clothes the characters wear outside in each episode.
Despite spanning over 18 episodes at this point, Severance's in-show climate is still distinctly cold and wintery. However, this is logical for the series' timeline.
While time seems to have passed in Severance, with fans waiting almost three years between seasons, it has only been a month or so within the show.
Since there is not enough time for the seasons to change entirely, it makes sense that Severance continuously occurs in winter.
Severance director Ben Stiller confirmed to Collider that the series also films in the wintertime to maintain believability, with many of the snowy scenes (particularly those in the winter terrain of Season 2, Episode 4) filmed in Upstate New York:
"We shot that in Upstate New York, where we shoot a lot of the show, and it was winter. We were fortunate enough to be blessed with a couple of very timely snowfalls that, these days, are few and far between. We were really lucky to have that. It was kind of a bonding experience for everybody. We were up there for about six weeks."
However, Severance has hinted at the occurrence of different seasons on multiple occasions. Throughout the episodes, several pictures of Mark's wife, Gemma (Dichen Lachman), depict her in front of blooming plants and flowers, which indicate springtime.
Similarly, Season 2, Episode 7 contains flashback scenes of Mark and Gemma's life together before the beginning of Severance, with the outside world seemingly free of snow.
Severance's Timeline Explained
Season 1 of Severance takes place over roughly one month, with Helly being introduced as the first significant timeline event in the premiere episode. It's established that Helly works at Macrodata Refinement (MDR) for seven days before she attempts suicide. She then returns to work three days later.
After trying to cover up this incident, Harmony Cobel was fired by the board three weeks later. This same day is when the MDR team activates the Overtime Contingency and awakens their innies on the outside.
Following this event, Season 2 is revealed to begin only two days later, with Mark re-awakening on the severed floor with a new team.
A few days later, the original MDR team is reassembled, although Milchick lies to them and tells them that five months have passed since their crimes.
It's difficult to pinpoint precisely how much time has passed in the remainder of Severance Season 2's timeline.
Dylan's outie is seen going through a period of unemployment before being re-hired, and Cobel is also approached by Lumon with a promotion, which would likely take place a few weeks later.
Mark's outie also begins the re-integration process in Season 2, and Dylan's innie has multiple visitations with his outie's wife, both of which seem to take place over multiple weeks.
Regardless, it seems the time for these events has not been long enough for the seasons to fully change in the world of Severance. It remains to be seen whether the series will take place during other climates in Severance Season 3 or beyond.
Severance's Season 2 finale will air on Apple TV+ on Friday, March 21.
