Ben Stiller not returning to direct ‘Severance’ season three

Ben Stiller will not be returning as director of Severance season three, as he will be focusing on a film project.

• READ MORE: ‘Severance’ season two review: mind-bending workplace sci-fi is the smartest thing on TV

The comedy star moved behind the camera for the first two seasons of the beloved Apple TV+ drama, with the latest receiving 27 nominations at the forthcoming Emmys. As the primary director on the show, he has helmed 11 of its 19 episodes so far.

However, in a new interview with The LA Times, he revealed he would be stepping away from that role to focus on a World War Two survival movie shooting in the spring, which according to the article: “tells the true story of a downed airman in occupied France and how he got involved with the French Resistance”. He is also in pre-production on the fourth Meet The Parents movie.

“These things take time to come together,” Stiller said in the interview, “and the older you get, the more you realize that you only have so much time”. He did, however, assure fans that he wouldn’t be stepping away from the show entirely, as he still serves as Severance’s executive producer.

“It’s been full time the last eight months working on season three and I’m not going anywhere,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We have incredible directors and a team that creates the show. I love directing it and look forward to at some point again for sure. I feel like season three is going to be the best yet as we continue to evolve”.

Yes! It’s been full time the last 8 months working on season 3 and I’m not going anywhere. We have incredible directors and a team that creates the show. I love directing it and look forward to at some point again for sure. I feel like season 3 is going to be the best yet as we…

— Ben Stiller (@BenStiller) August 18, 2025

The third season of Severance was announced in a video starring Apple CEO Tim Cook, and while no release date has been confirmed Stiller insisted it won’t have the same three year gap as the one between the first two seasons.

In June, the editor of the second season’s viral marching band scene revealed he had never cut a music video before tackling the sequence.

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