When Work Is a Terrifying Dystopia

Many people’s experience of work over the past two years, amid a global pandemic, has been one of invasion: Their job has infiltrated the personal sphere, colonizing space that used to be distinct. Apple TV+’s new series jarringly reverses this impression. The show’s setup imagines a complete split between work and life, a “severance” between one’s professional and private selves. Mark (played by Adam Scott) works for a shadowy company that’s implanted a chip in his brain that divides his memory and perception; it gets triggered every time he steps into the office elevator. Work Mark has no idea what his life is like outside the office; home Mark has not even the faintest inkling of what he does for a living.