Ben Stiller Addresses ‘Difficult’ Set Rumors Behind Hit Apple TV+ Show

Severance director Ben Stiller has cleared the air almost two years after reports that the show was suffering from on-set drama—and it seems everyone worked out their differences.

In April 2023, it was reported that behind-the-scenes beef was crippling the Emmy-winning show’s second season, which is set to release later this week.

“I never really believed that idea of you have to have friction or something on a set...to keep sort-of tension,” Stiller said on the New York Times podcast “The Interview,” released on Jan. 11. “I really believe the show comes out of the different creative perspectives of the people who work on it.”

Puck News wrote in 2023 that the Apple TV+ series was delayed significantly due to rumored squabbles between showrunners Mark Friedman and Dan Erickson. Series creator Erickson and seasoned writer Friedman were said to have “ended up hating each other on the first season.”

Amid rumors of wanting to shuffle writers and delays, Stiller took to X at the time and clarified that “we’re on the same really slow schedule we’ve always been on. Same target air date we’ve always had. Love our fans and each other and we all are just working to make the show as good as possible.”

With the show’s second season debuting on Jan. 17, Stiller was ready to leave the drama behind.

“It’s not always perfect. We went through patches when there were difficulties. ... It came out of everybody wanting something to be as good as it could be,” he said on the podcast. “There was some stuff that happened, but it wasn’t a big deal.”