The second season of Severance might have been bigger, bolder, and darker than its predecessor, but it still maintained the four ominous chords that instantly set the Apple TV+ sci-fi show apart from the rest. That motif is the foundation for Severance’s trippy opening titles, and it’s become the soundtrack to a tidal wave of memes taking social media by storm.
Though Severance has its chuckle-inducing moments, it’s largely a drama — but that hasn’t stopped its fandom from having fun with its source material. That irony is not lost on composer Theodore Shapiro, who worked on a handful of comedies alongside director Ben Stiller before taking on Severance. Shapiro reveals that Stiller helped pick those four chords out of a song he’d previously composed. That it’s come to define the series in such unexpected (and hilarious) ways — from bossa nova remixes to skits praising the hotness of the cast — feels like a full-circle moment for the duo.
