SEVERANCE for Apple TV+, he and fellow cast members were unsure how viewers would respond to a streaming series built around brain chips, a room full of goats, and waffle parties.

The psychological thriller, the most-nominated show at Sunday’s Emmy Awards, tells the story of office workers who undergo surgery that makes them forget their home life at work, and vice versa.

“We all felt it was weird, and maybe too weird,” said Adam Scott, the Parks and Recreation actor who plays a history professor turned manager inside the sterile offices of the fictional Lumon Industries.

Voters for the Emmys, the highest honors in television, have embraced the mind-bending tale. Severance racked up 27 Emmy nominations and won six trophies at an Emmys ceremony last week for technical awards.

The sci-fi series is in the running for more Emmys on Sunday including the top prize of best drama. Competitors include Star Wars series Andor, emergency room tale The Pitt, and murder mystery The White Lotus. Winners will be announced at a red-carpet ceremony televised live on CBS.

Mr. Scott was nominated for best drama actor and Severance co-star Britt Lower for best drama actress. Seven other Severance stars received supporting or guest actor nods.

Many of the Severance actors play two characters — an “innie” version who works at Lumon performing tedious tasks and an “outie” variation who lives in the outside world.

Among the show’s unusual touchpoints, the Lumon building includes a room where caretakers raise herds of goats. One employee is rewarded for good work with a waffle party that provides an opportunity for sexual experiences.

What does all of this add up to?

Severance offers a philosophical take on the work-life balance and the power of corporations, while “poking a stick at it with an absurdist light,” said Chris Rice, co-chief executive officer of Fifth Season, the production company behind the show.

Supporting actor nominee John Turturro, who plays loyal Lumon employee Irving, said the show “poses questions without giving all the answers.”

“I think people find that really participatory,” he added.

Plus, “people have to navigate work life and personal life, and that is an eternal conundrum that people go through.”

BIG QUESTIONS
Severance debuted in 2022 to critical acclaim and gained traction with viewers when season two was released in January 2025. The show landed in Nielsen’s top 10 list of the most-streamed shows.

Stars of the series said they thought it was more than job dissatisfaction that drew people to Severance. They cited loneliness in today’s society as people are glued to technology rather than seeking human connection.

“There’s a certain alienation that we’re all feeling from one another these days,” Mr. Scott said.

Zach Cherry, a supporting actor nominee who plays dependable office worker Dylan, said Severance makes people turn inward.

“Beyond the characters connecting to each other,” Mr. Cherry said, “it’s also about the characters learning to connect to all the different parts of themselves, which I think is also something that everyone has to deal with.”

Ms. Lower, who plays the stubborn Helly, said the show has earned fans among high school and college students who have not yet entered the workforce. She believes the series is prompting people to ask deep questions, such as “what makes us human?”

“To me, that is kind of the most exciting part,” Ms. Lower said. “Are the innies human? Are they full humans? And what makes them that?” — Reuters

TORONTO — The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, a documentary about one man’s response to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel, faced protests during its Wednesday premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where it was almost not shown.

Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich chronicles the story of retired Israeli Defence Forces Major-General Noam Tibon as he races from Tel Aviv to a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip to save his son and his family.

In Toronto, a few dozen protesters carrying Palestinian flags and a handful of people supporting Israel demonstrated outside the screening. One person was arrested, according to Toronto Police.

Mr. Avrich said he did not object to peaceful protests.

“I ultimately wish anybody that’s protesting this film watches it first. Then let’s have a conversation,” he said on the red carpet. “In the world right now we need to hear stories of family and unity and that’s what this movie is about.”

Hamas killed about 1,200 people on Oct. 7 and took about 250 hostage, according to Israeli authorities. The invasion sparked Israel’s bombardment and blockade of Gaza, now almost two years old. More than 64,000 people have been killed, according to local health authorities, and international observers say parts of Gaza are in a state of famine.

Israel’s actions in Gaza have been called a genocide by scholars and rights groups, including some from Israel. Israel has denied accusations of genocide.

The film makes extensive use of violent Hamas bodycam footage from Oct. 7, interspersed with interviews with the Tibon family and other Israeli survivors.

The film is critical of Israeli leadership — “We failed tremendously on that day,” says Mr. Tibon’s wife Gali, who refers to the feeling that “your country abandoned you.” But it is Israelis with guns — security guards, current and former members of the military — who are depicted coming to the rescue.

Mr. Avrich’s film was almost not shown at the festival as TIFF briefly excluded it in mid-August. A joint statement from TIFF Chief Executive Officer Cameron Bailey and Mr. Avrich later said they had worked together to satisfy safety, legal, and programming concerns and would include the film.

“I want to apologize, especially to the Jewish community,” Mr. Bailey said ahead of the screening, to applause. — Reuters

TORONTO — The new biopic Swiped, starring British actor Lily James as dating app Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, takes the audience back to Silicon Valley in the early 2010s, before swiping left or right had anything to do with match-making.

Directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, the film follows Wolfe Herd’s journey through a male-dominated tech industry, leading her to launch Bumble — but not before her contentious departure from rival app Tinder, which she co-founded.

“Seeing Whitney go through an experience where she starts out working within the status quo and playing into the boys club… and then realizing what was wrong with that and being able to turn it all around and create her biggest success… I think that’s a really helpful path for all of us,” Ms. Goldenberg told Reuters before the movie’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday.

Bumble, which launched in 2014, stood out from competitors by requiring women to make the first move by writing to their matches first.

Ms. Wolfe Herd was not involved in the making of the film because of a nondisclosure agreement she signed in her settlement with Tinder.

“The filmmakers and the writers drew everything from the public domain in order to tell this story,” Ms. James told Reuters.

“(They) spent a lot of time developing this story to make it feel as real and deep and true to her story as we possibly could, and I loved doing the research. It was a brilliant part of the process.”

Online dating apps have struggled in recent years to retain audiences, especially Gen Z users. In June, Bumble announced it would lay off nearly a third of its workforce.

Swiped will start streaming globally on Disney+ and Hulu on Sept. 19. — Reuters