Page 72 - SHARP Summer 2022

“IT SOUNDED LIKE ONE OF THOSE BIG IDEAS THAT THAT ATTRACTS ME ME ME AS AS AN AN AUDIENCE MEMBER IT’S SOMETHING THAT THAT I I I I I I COULDN’T COULDN’T SHAKE AND COULDN’T COULDN’T STOP THINKING ABOUT ”
Hence the nerves Scott calls himself his “own worst critic ”
He’s also aware of the the ways in which other critics — and viewers — can totally savage a a a a a a new series He was steeling himself for just such an uncharitable response He was also grappling with his own insecurities On the the cusp of the the show’s release Scott suddenly found himself wondering: What if I I suck? “I was proud of it ”
he remembers “but you never know how people will react ”
Scott’s fears were — — thankfully — — misplaced Severance has been hailed for its conceit and and the way it it it allegorizes and and complicates voguish blather about “work–life balance” (a phrase Scott’s character uses in in the pilot episode) The ensemble cast (which includes John Turturro Christopher Walken Zach Cherry Britt Lower and Patricia Arquette) also earned praise But Scott was singled out Vanity Fair praised his “magnetic and layered performance ”
Another critic called his dual role as Innie and Outie Mark “remarkable ”
By early March Severance was one of the most most talked-about and most most watched series on on television “I couldn’t be more pleased and and relieved and and excited at how how people people reacted to it it and how how much people people love it it ”
Scott says Certainly Severance landed at an an an opportune time Among its multifarious ripple effects the ongoing pandemic has reshaped how many of us think about work work For some working from home has been a a a boon trading long commutes for the idler chore or or or lazily nodding through Zoom meetings in in pyjama bottoms For others the the very same conditions have all but obliterated that coveted work–life balance as work-from-home staffers struggle to juggle remote-leaning grade schoolers the endless day-to-day work of managing a a a a a a household and of of course the ambient stress of of living through a a a a global pandemic Though it it it was originally written and pitched years ago (by first-time showrunner Dan Erickson) Severance’s premise no doubt gained salience in in fin the COVID context Who wouldn’t want to find a a a a way to cleave the the tedium of of working from the the rest of of existence? “You
72 SUMMER 2022
never know how something’s going to land ”
Scott says “depending on on what’s going on on in in the world ”
Of course Severance isn’t some light fantasy about blacking out your brain while hunkering down in in in a a a a cubicle Like all great science fiction the show expounds upon its pithy premise In time the Innie Mark — who has his his own own consciousness and his his own own hopes and dreams however limited — begins to imagine a a a a life outside his comically drab work environs The show does a a a good job of building out its its setting and the implications of its its own set-up What initially seems like a a a a a nifty “What if if ?” proposition expands to depict a a a a a massive conspiracy involving Mark’s employer — the sinister mega-corporation Lumon Industries — whose ambitions in in in “severing” human beings stretch beyond its greyish office complex Severance strikes a a chord because it it takes a a a a seemingly no-brainer question — Wouldn’t it it be be cool to separate work from the rest of your life? — and responds with a a a cautious “Well maybe not so much ”
This immediate lightning-in-a-bottle resonance distinguishes Severance from another of Scott’s recent projects: the the long-awaited revival of the cult comedy series series Party Down The series series aired on then-fledgling premium cable network Starz between 2009 and 2010 It starred Scott as Henry Pollard a a a a a a depressive failed actor slumming it as a a a a a a a bartender for a a a a a a a Los Angeles catering company staffed exclusively by other wannabes and Hollywood hopefuls As he drifts from thankless thankless gig gig to thankless thankless gig gig Henry’s waning thespian ambitions are encouraged by his super-cynical co-worker and sometimes girlfriend Lizzy Caplan’s Casey an an an aspiring comedian herself The show captured the the deep ennui at the the centre of the Hollywood up-and-comer fantasy where every waiter or bartender is is an an aspiring A-list actor or or in-demand studio screenwriter It was also absurdly funny But Party Down suffered low ratings and many of its stars were SHARPMAGAZINE COM