Few reveals on TV proper now have a extra distinct visible language than “Severance,” a lot of which could be attributed to the partnership between director Ben Stiller and cinematographer Jessica Lee Gagné. The 2 collaborators formed the look of a cultural phenomenon in Season 1 and located a option to exceed the seemingly insurmountable expectations that awaited Season 2, an achievement that earned them the Auteur Award on the 2025 TV IndieWire Honors.
Whereas accepting the award, the 2 collaborators mirrored on the distinctive bond that they cast over the course of 400 days of capturing over the previous half decade.
“I’m so grateful for the collaboration that we now have been capable of have collectively,” Stiller stated. “Jessica is without doubt one of the most proficient folks I’ve ever met, and I really feel fortunate that we now have been capable of work collectively, to unlock elements of ourselves that we haven’t been capable of earlier than.”
However the celebration additionally got here with the bittersweet acknowledgement that their days of working instantly collectively on set are coming to an finish. Gagné made her directorial debut on the “Severance” Season 2 episode “Chikhai Bardo,” and defined that her future ambitions lie in directing. She thanked Stiller for his unwavering assist of these targets, noting that his willingness to carry her up was proof that he valued her friendship greater than his present.
“Over the previous eight years, you’ve seen me undergo a giant private transformation,” Gagné stated. “A pair years in the past, part of me that I had buried very deep within the floor began to claw its approach out. I used to be really afraid of this a part of me that needed to direct. I used to be contemplating shoving her again into the bottom. You noticed her and also you provided her a hand. We dug her up collectively, and I’ll at all times be glad about that. However what I love most about you is that part of you have to have recognized that by enabling me to grow to be a director, you’d lose your cinematographer and longtime collaborator. You didn’t have to do this, however you probably did it. And that’s how I do know that, above all, you’re my buddy.”
Forward of the ceremony, Stiller and Gagne spoke to IndieWire’s Ben Travers, detailing the lunch throughout Cannes that led to their ongoing partnership and the strain they felt to enhance on the present’s critically acclaimed first season.
“Season 2 scared me somewhat bit, as a result of Season 1 was fully its personal factor that had no reference factors when it comes to folks having seen it or judging it or liking it or not — we simply made it,” Stiller stated. “Then, swiftly, it was well-received by quite a lot of the folks, and it was now like, ‘OK, what wouldn’t screw this up and nonetheless broaden it? What do folks actually love about this? Do they love the child goats? Do they love the hallways? Do they love Mark and Helly’s relationship? All people has various things they join with, so [the focus for Season 2] was extra like attempting to not lose the factor we’d created.”
“Ben, you’ve a really natural course of, and it’s truly type of liberating, particularly for a DP,” Gagné stated. “As a DP, you wish to be sure to’re on the proper path for the director and utilizing references, however you by no means wish to lean in too closely since you don’t need it to grow to be one thing that’s already been made. It’s nearly making a language with the filmmaker and with the staff the place we will say one phrase and everyone knows what we’re speaking about. So we are available in with a plan, however then we’re additionally capable of throw it away and create on the spot, understanding that concepts come from many locations.”
The IndieWire Honors occasion came about at NeueHouse in Hollywood on Thursday, June 5 as hosted by comic and “Hacks” breakout star Robby Hoffman. Different honorees for the night included Ben Stiller, Colin Farrell, Ramy Youssef, Julianne Nicholson, Kathy Bates, and extra.