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Apple TV+'s Severance blurs the line between fiction and reality with new self-help book tie-in

The book that started the innie revolt has made its way into the real world, as Apple releases Severance's The You You Are

Lumon Industries’ reach is growing. While the second season of Severance is gaining more and more fans on Apple TV+ — the fourth episode will drop on the streamer later this week — one part of the show’s increasingly vast mythology has escaped the confines of the show and made it into the real world with Dr. Ricken Lazlo Hale’s The You You Are actually being released for audiences to read for themselves.

For those who don’t watch Severance yet and might not fully know what that means: The You You Are is the fictional self-help book written by Hale, the (somewhat milquetoast) brother-in-law of Mark Scout, the series’ main character as played by Adam Scott. Somewhat accidentally, the book inspired a workplace revolt at the end of the show’s first season, and has since become even more of a feature of the series from that point on. And now, those looking to decode the many mysteries of Severance can read it for themselves… kind of.

Officially, the 39-page release is a 'sampler' of the full book — and, potentially, a sampler of a version of the book teased but as-yet-unreleased inside the show itself, judging by comments contained within the introduction to the book. (Hale mentions “a brief delay as I leased with several corporate parties as to precisely where and in what form the book should be released,” suggesting that it could be the Lumon-published edition for “innies” initially suggested in season 2, episode 3.)

The book was released for free on Apple Books January 31. If it’s published in the future of the show’s timeline, does that mean it contains hidden clues for what lies ahead in the remainder of season 2? Only Hale — and Lumon Industries’ near-mythical founder Kier Eagan — know for sure.

Severance released new episodes every Friday on Apple TV+.


Want to know more about Lumon Industries' Severance program? We are all here to help spread the word of Kier.

Graeme McMillan

Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.

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