There are shows where actors and creatives come and go, but “Severance” really doesn’t come across as one of those. The best sci-fi show on Apple TV+ is attuned to a very specific frequency and features a fairly small core group of carefully cast actors, so it seems that every single person on both sides of the camera is absolutely crucial to the show’s unique ambience. Knowing this, it’s easy to become unnerved by the news that a key creative behind the show is stepping away from her role. Cinematographer Jessica Lee Gagné worked as the “Severance” director of photography in 15 of the show’s 20 episodes, which makes her role in creating its unique visuals extremely important. This, however, is about to change. In an interview with Awards Buzz’s Abe Friedtanzer, Gagné confirmed that she’s moving away from cinematography.
Fortunately, the situation isn’t as grim as it appears. Gagné made her directorial debut on the “Severance” season 2 standout episode “Chikhai Bardo,” and is now busy with her debut feature-length movie. “It’s not close at all to ‘Severance,’ but it’s very personal to me,” Gagné said. “It’s an erotic thriller, very kind of 90s erotic thrilleresque. Those movies that, you know, we loved to watch in the theaters or even rent at the video store, but I’m kind of taking a feminist or feminine approach to it. I’m reappropriating the genre.”
Gagné offered a potential glimmer of hope for “Severance” fans, too: While she said that she’s leaving cinematography behind, she didn’t entirely rule out working on “Severance” season 3 in some capacity. “I have to just let the universe decide,” she said.”We’re going to see what happens there. ‘Severance’ is a wild beast. You never know when it’s coming and how long it’s going to take.”
Chikhai Bardo convinced Gagné to explore directing
Fans will no doubt be eager to see what Jessica Lee Gagné can do in the feature-length movie game … and they probably wouldn’t mind if she ended up directing another “Severance” episode or two, either. The jump to directing may, in other words, turn out to be the best-case scenario for all involved, especially because Gagne’s pivot to directing won’t cause her to forget the art of cinematography. “I feel like I can’t wait to work with cinematographers,” she said in the Awards Buzz interview. “I feel like every project has the perfect cinematographer for it, and I think that on my journey in becoming a director I think I’ll be a better director if I work with another cinematographer.”
Gagné actually intended to leave “Severance” after season 1 to explore new opportunities, but agreed to return for season 2 after receiving an offer to direct — or rather, realizing just what she would get to direct. “[Directing] is often proposed to cinematographers so they come back for another season,” Gagné told Hollywood Reporter. “So I said no at first, but then I read the synopsis of season two, and episode seven really struck me as something that I could do and should do. I really had to look at myself in the mirror because I had blocked this desire out ever since film school. So I was like, ‘Okay, it’s now or never.'”
Put all this together, and the most disturbing “Severance” season 2 episode seems to have a particularly heartwarming backstory. Not only did “Chikhai Bardo” help the show secure its director of photography for one more season, but it helped Gagné find her long-suppressed passion for directing. Not bad for an incredibly dark hour of science fiction.