After a three year sabbatical, the severed workers of Lumon Industries are returning for Season 2. Directed by Ben Stiller, the dystopian thriller premieres with two new episodes this Friday, Jan. 17 on Apple TV+.

While “Severance” has a wonderfully creepy-compelling premise, it’s a concept better suited to a movie than a multi-episode TV series.

Fortunately, “Severance” returns to Apple TV+ on Friday, and its makers seem to have used every second of the absence productively. The season takes new turns while remaining the most ambitious, batty and all-out pleasurable show on TV, an M.C. Escher maze whose plot convolutions never get in the way of its voice, heart and sense of humor.

The acclaimed Apple TV+ series is making its long-awaited return. A second season was filmed over three years.

This story contains spoilers for Season 1 of “Severance,” streaming on Apple TV+. A recap is available upon request. “Severance” returns on Apple TV+ this Friday, but it’s been nearly three years since the first season of the sci-fi workplace thriller ended on a brutal cliffhanger.

It’s been quite a while since we last saw Mark S. (Adam Scott), an employee at the mysterious company Lumon Industries, which uses a surgical procedure called “severance” to separate people’s home lives from their work lives. Season 1 ended on a cliffhanger in April 2022, leaving viewers eager for the next chapter.

After more than two years between seasons, Severance returns with Season 2 on Jan. 17 on Apple TV+. Created by Dan Erickson, Severance follows a group of workers at Lumon Industries who have agreed to the "severance program," where your non-work memories are separated from your work memories, thus giving you an "innie" and "outie" life.

See at Roku Channel. Right now, you can watch all nine episodes of Severance season 1 on the Roku Channel, from the premiere episode (The Good News About Hell) to the season final