Ben Stiller and ‘Severance’ Creator Break Down That Trippy Waffle Party

Ben Stiller is keeping it all in perspective. The director reconciled with his wife, Christine Taylor, over the course of the pandemic, and couldn’t be happier about the direction his life has taken.“I’m so happy where I’m at in my life and the fact that we're even able to be here together doing this right now, all those things are now not taken for granted,” Stiller told ET’s Denny Directo. “The whole last few years have been a time for everybody to kind of get in touch with a lot of that.” Stiller, 56, and Taylor, 50, announced their split in 2017, after 17 years of marriage, but neither officially filed for divorce.

, the Apple TV+ puzzle box series from creator and writer Dan Erickson and director and executive producer Ben Stiller, has come to a shocking yet satisfying end, the cast and creative team has opened up to ET about spoilers, including Stiller’s secret cameo, and hopes for season 2. In the workplace thriller, Adam Scott plays Mark Scout, an employee at the mysterious biotech company, Lumon Industries, that has undergone a controversial surgical procedure, which divides a person’s workplace and home life memories and results in separate lives led by the innies, those inside the office, and outies, those at home and beyond. “I certainly understand why my character in the show wants to do this — it's just so that he doesn't have to feel anything for eight hours a day,” Scott told ET about Mark’s decision to become “severed,” which is a way to spare himself the grief he still suffers from after his wife Gemma died in a car accident. But after the unexpected departure of Petey (Yul Vazquez), the leader of Mark’s department and the arrival of a new recruit, Helly (Britt Lower), the balance in office is quickly thrown into chaos, much to the chagrin and concern of supervisor of the severed floor, Seth Milchick (Tramell Tillman), and his boss Harmony Cobel (Patricia Arquette). “It’s an amazing part.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOLER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Pulse,” the April 10 episode of “The Equalizer.”Chris Noth was fired from CBS’ “The Equalizer” in December after being accused of sexual assault by two women. On Sunday, the drama revealed how Noth’s character, William Bishop, was written off the Queen Latifah-led show.The last episode of “The Equalizer” that Noth appeared in was the Season 2 episode “Separated,” which aired Jan.

Deadline’s photo studio at the 2022 edition of Contenders Television kicked off its first day by hosting fest-goers such as Ben Stiller of Severance,  Amy Poehler of Russian Doll, Selena Gomez of Only Murders In The Building, Jared Leto of WeCrashed and many more.

Severance creator Ben Stiller joined stars Patricia Arquette and Britt Lower on stage for a panel at Deadline’s Contenders TV, with Adam Scott joining virtually to discuss the Apple TV+ series.

Deadline’s annual Contenders Television kicked off at Paramount Studios on Saturday by hosting panel guests including Josh Brolin of Outer Range, Ben Stiller of Severance, Amber Ruffin of The Amber Ruffin Show, Selena Gomez of Only Murders In The Building among many others.

Ben Stiller and Patricia Arquette hit the red carpet for the season finale event for Severance at DGA Theater Complex on Friday night (April 8) in Los Angeles.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Dancing With the Stars” is moving to Disney Plus after airing for 30 seasons airing on ABC, Variety has confirmed.The show has received a two-season renewal at the Disney-owned streaming service for Seasons 31 and 32, with the new season to debut in the fall. “DWTS” will be the first live series to stream on Disney Plus.Variety has confirmed the series will not air repeats on ABC and strictly be available via Disney Plus.“’Dancing with the Stars’ has entertained fans for 16 years on ABC, and we are excited to bring this beloved show exclusively to Disney+ as the platform’s first-ever live series,” said Kareem Daniel, chairman, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSPOLER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “The We We Are,” the April 8 Season 1 finale episode of “Severance.”The Apple TV Plus drama “Severance” ended its first season with a truly big finale payoff for those who’ve patiently awaited answers to the workplace’s thriller many mysteries.Helly R’s (Britt Lower) Outtie is actually Lumon CEO Jame Eagan’s newly severed daughter, Helena Eagan, and she’s just revealed to a party full of Lumon shareholders the company is torturing its severed employees — despite Ms. Cobel’s (Patricia Arquette) desperate attempt to stop her.Mark Scout’s (Adam Scott) Innie has discovered Outtie Mark has a supposedly deceased wife named Gemma (Dichen Lachman) — who is really the very much alive Miss Casey — and shouted the news to a roomful of people at Devon (Jen Tullock) and Ricken’s (Michael Chernus) book party.

SPOILER ALERT: The following story contains details from the season finale of Apple TV+’s Severance.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterCrank up the defiant jazz: “Severance” has been renewed for Season 2 at Apple TV Plus.In the Ben Stiller-directed workplace thriller, Mark Scout (Adam Scott) leads a team at Lumon Industries, whose employees have undergone a severance procedure, which surgically divides their memories between their work and personal lives. This daring experiment in ‘work-life balance’ is called into question as Mark finds himself at the center of an unraveling mystery that will force him to confront the true nature of his work… and of himself.Along with Scott, “Severance” stars Patricia Arquette, John Turturro, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry, Dichen Lachman, Jen Tullock, Tramell Tillman, Michael Chernus and Christopher Walken.

This is so moving!

Ben Stiller is looking back at one of his first acting jobs!

Not even Ben Stiller is immune from embarrassing himself in front of one of his heroes.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterApple TV Plus drama “Severance” takes place in a world where people are able to undergo a medical procedure that gives them a literal work-life balance by implanting a chip in their brain that essentially splits them into two different conscious versions of themselves: an “Innie” who is awake only at work, and an “Outtie” who is not aware of what they do from 9 to 5.In order to make the sci-fi thriller’s central plot point believable enough that viewers could accept it as a reality of the life of Mark Scout (Adam Scott) and his severed colleagues at Lumon Industries and move on to the larger ethical implications of severance, director Ben Stiller and series creator Dan Erickson brought in a real-life neurosurgeon to make all of this look possible. And, according to the M.D., it’s not actually impossible at all, given enough time.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Supernatural” alum Misha Collins, who played the trench-coat-wearing angel Castiel on the long-running CW series, has been cast on the network’s “Gotham Knights” pilot, Variety has learned.Collins will play District Attorney Harvey Dent in the project, which is based on DC Comics characters. In DC canon, Dent is known for later turning into the Batman villain Two-Face.Per the official description for the “Gotham Knights” character, “Dashing, with a swagger, Harvey Dent is Gotham’s charismatic, hard-charging District Attorney.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterBen Stiller is in talks to star in Ivo van Hove’s upcoming stage adaptation of Stephen King’s horror classic “The Shining,” Variety has confirmed. The play is scheduled to open on the West End next year.Should Stiller’s deal close, he will play the lead role of Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic who is hired as an off-season caretaker in a historic Colorado hotel.Stiller has performed on stage before, in 2011’s Broadway revival of John Guare’s “House of Blue Leaves” with Edie Falco and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Ben Stiller is eyeing the lead role in the Ivo van Hove stage adaptation of Stephen King’s horror classic The Shining!

EXCLUSIVE: A major new Ivo van Hove stage adaptation of Stephen King’s horror classic The Shining is in the works for a 2023 West End debut, with an A-list creative team in place and Ben Stiller in talks to play the role of the crazed, haunted dad Jack Torrance.