Five Shows to Watch While You Wait for ‘The Breakup’ Season 3
Being a fan of Apple TV+ ‘s Out of the Game takes patience. Hopefully the wait for season three won’t be as interminable as the three-year drought between seasons one and two, but you never know, so we’ll just have to hang in there.
It doesn’t get much better than Severance. The series uses a mind-bending sci-fi premise about people undergoing brain surgery to cope with their damn jobs to explore identity, corporate control, and the nature of humanity itself, all while maintaining an unsettling atmosphere and managing to be darkly funny. However, these five shows combine mind-boggling concepts, workplace satire, and existential dread, and might just help you scratch that Severance itch while you wait for Season 3 to drop.
Mr. Robot (2015-2019)
Mr. Robot tells the story of Elliot Alderson, a young cybersecurity expert with mental health issues who falls for the megacorporation he works for. Like the reintegrated characters in Dismissal , Elliot isn’t always sure where reality ends and his delusions begin. Viewers aren’t sure either. The two shows share a thematic underpinning — a dark look at late capitalism, the last embers of humanity being gnawed away by forces beyond anyone’s control — but Mr. Robot doesn’t have the cool, detached feel of Dismissal . Everything is told from the protagonist’s perspective, so it’s more intense and personal. You can stream Mr. Robot on Tubi.
Darkness (2017-2020)
At first glance, the German sci-fi dramaDark is more reminiscent of Netflix’s Stranger Things than Apple TV’s Severance — it’s partly about a group of teenagers who discover a strange lab on the outskirts of their town where something supernatural seems to be going on. But Dark is smart and entertaining throughout all three seasons, rather than flagging after the first. Like Severance , Dark has complex characters and an intricate plot, where the fantasy element at its center is actually a way to explore themes of loss, time, memory, and identity. And I really appreciate any show that doesn’t insult its viewers’ intelligence by over-explaining everything. You can stream Dark onNetflix .
Prisoner (1967-1968)
If you’re the type who likes to explore the origins of the things you love, you need to watch The Prisoner . The titular character is a British secret agent who’s being held in a surreal prison for reasons he can’t explain. It’s hard to overstate how innovative and ahead of its time this show was when it aired in the late 1960s: It’s essentially the blueprint for every mind-blowing TV show that followed, from Lost to The X-Files to Exit . While The Prisoner is clearly dated, there’s a charm to its old-fashioned cheesiness. It’s low-budget James Bond with sci-fi elements and serious ambition — what’s not to love? You can stream The Prisoner on Prime , Tubi, Sling, and Plex.
Silo (2023-present)
Another ambitious, original sci-fi show from Apple TV+ tells the story of a civilization that has lived in a vast underground mine for generations, and they’re not even sure why they’re there; they only know that returning to the surface means death. Or is it? The way Silo’s corrupt government tightly controls information has certain similarities to the petty authoritarianism of Lumon Industries. While Silo is generally a less nuanced show than Severance (it’s closer to the immersive YA narrative than the carefully plotted puzzle of Severance ), if you’re looking for a dose of sci-fi, check out Silo. You can find Silo on Apple TV .
The Kingdom (1994)
Director/provocateur Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom is the only show I know that combines comedy and surrealism, along with Exit. While The Kingdom ’s characters work in a Danish hospital built on a cursed graveyard rather than the corporate headquarters of an evil cult, both shows feature a powerful institution corrupting its employees, and both are, in some ways, absurdist, darkly hilarious workplace comedies. Exit has a weird cult, brain surgery, and a goat room; The Kingdom has patient-led séances, a ghostly ambulance, and a monster baby. You can stream The Kingdom on Mubi.