‘Severance’ pop-up sends the internet into meltdown

Resignation is one of the most anticipated shows of the year. The Ben Stiller-directed dystopian thriller premiered back in 2022 to rave reviews, and the upcoming second season has fans and critics drooling. Fortunately, an event occurred in New York that quenched some of this thirst.

Ahead of the second season’s launch on January 17 on Apple TV Plus, Resignation cast and crew displayed a pop-up display at New York’s Grand Central Station—and it sent the Internet into a joyous meltdown.

It wasn’t just a fun event, though. The happy online reaction to Resignation pop-up reveals something about our relationship with art today, as well as sheds light on the interaction between the internet and real life.

First, let’s examine what happened to the event.

What is ‘Dismissal?’ And what happened to the pop-up in New York City?

Resignation is a science fiction series starring actors including – but not limited to – Adam Scott, Zach Cherry and Britt Lower. The show follows the lives of a group of people who work at Lumon Industries as part of the “severance” program.

The characters in question agree to be implanted with a chip that separates their working and non-working memories, effectively making them two people, neither knowing the other.

The Resignation pop-up in New York’s Grand Central Station echoed this story.

Actors from the series appeared in character, encased in a glass cube, going about their normal work day at Lumon Industries.

What was the online reaction to the ‘Severance’ pop-up?

The internet was happy to see Resignation characters appear in the real world, with posts about this event racking up millions of views.

These came in a variety of formats, with some people sharing photos taken live at the event:

While others wrote enviously about those who could participate:

Some users created memes from the popup, such as this one that links Resignation to Baby girl:

Finally, other posts spent time analyzing what Resignation pop-up means in relation to the series itself:

Why was the internet so excited about the ‘Severance’ pop-up?

There are a few things at play here. The first and most obvious reason for the overly positive reaction is that Resignation is a popular and well-liked show.

At the time of writing, Rotten tomatoes has the first season with a critic score of 97% and a user rating of 88%. Simply put, a pop-up like this gets people excited about the upcoming season.

Alongside this – and as the tweet directly above mentioned – there is also the metaphorical impact of the event: characters appearing in a glass case to promote a show about privacy. It is a startling picture.

But there are other elements that help explain the Internet’s positive response to Resignation stunt.

Part of the internet’s joy in it may be due to changing viewing habits and the evolution of the community.

One of the interesting side effects of streaming is that more people are now watching television alone. Research from Ipsos revealed that “members of Gen Z tend to watch entertainment on their phones, alone.”

In fact, 63% of 16-24 year olds and 64% of people aged between 25 and 39 are more likely to watch TV on their smartphone than anywhere else.

There are several reasons behind this. The rise of streaming services and video-first social media platforms encourages people to watch exactly what they want, when they want. Combined with the proliferation of smartphones (97.5% of people between the ages of 18 and 49 in the US own one), this drives people to consume more entertainment alone.

Where viewership was once a shared experience, it is now a far more internal one.

This can be a lonely situation for many (yes, the number of people suffering from daily loneliness in the US increased by 3% from 2023 to 2024), but there are ways to avoid this isolation – and the Internet is an integral part of it.

Social media platforms allow people to experience a sense of community over the shows they like. Individuals can write and interact with others and form online bonds.

Yet Resignation pop-up in New York takes this to another level.

Here, a show that might have been watched alone breaks into the real world, blurring the line between reality and fiction.

It also plays with the idea of ​​a personal and shared experience. If many people watch Resignation on their own terms, at whatever time they choose, this pop-up acts like something akin to an old-fashioned broadcast show.

Since the event happened at roughly the same time for everyone (of course depending on when they see the social posts), it creates a simultaneous shared experience. Fans of the show feel like they are part of something bigger, involved in a moment that crosses the boundaries of reality, mixing online and offline and giving them a unique experience.

In the end is Resignation the pop-up may just be a promotional event, but it can offer something much deeper: a point of connection. This can unite a disparate fan base around a single shared moment and thereby made many people online very happy.

All that’s left to say is this: bring on season two Resignation.