Few shows on TV right now have a more distinct visual language than “Severance,” much of which can be attributed to the partnership between director Ben Stiller and cinematographer Jessica Lee Gagné. The two collaborators shaped the look of a cultural phenomenon in Season 1 and found a way to exceed the seemingly insurmountable expectations that awaited Season 2, an achievement that earned them the Auteur Award at the 2025 TV IndieWire Honors.
While accepting the award, the two collaborators reflected on the unique bond that they forged over the course of 400 days of shooting over the past half decade.
“I am so grateful for the collaboration that we have been able to have together,” Stiller said. “Jessica is one of the most talented people I’ve ever met, and I feel lucky that we have been able to work together, to unlock parts of ourselves that we haven’t been able to before.”
But the celebration also came with the bittersweet acknowledgement that their days of working directly together on set are coming to an end. Gagné made her directorial debut on the “Severance” Season 2 episode “Chikhai Bardo,” and explained that her future ambitions lie in directing. She thanked Stiller for his unwavering support of those goals, noting that his willingness to lift her up was evidence that he valued her friendship more than his show.
“Over the past eight years, you have seen me go through a big personal transformation,” Gagné said. “A couple years ago, a part of me that I had buried very deep in the ground started to claw its way out. I was truly afraid of this part of me that wanted to direct. I was considering shoving her back into the ground. You saw her and you offered her a hand. We dug her up together, and I will always be grateful for that. But what I admire most about you is that a part of you must have known that by enabling me to become a director, you would lose your cinematographer and longtime collaborator. You didn’t have to do that, but you did it. And that’s how I know that, above all, you’re my friend.”
Ahead of the ceremony, Stiller and Gagne spoke to IndieWire’s Ben Travers, detailing the lunch during Cannes that led to their ongoing partnership and the pressure they felt to improve on the show’s critically acclaimed first season.
“Season 2 scared me a little bit, because Season 1 was completely its own thing that had no reference points in terms of people having seen it or judging it or liking it or not — we just made it,” Stiller said. “Then, all of a sudden, it was well-received by a lot of the people, and it was now like, ‘OK, what would not screw this up and still expand it? What do people really love about this? Do they love the baby goats? Do they love the hallways? Do they love Mark and Helly’s relationship? Everybody has different things they connect with, so [the focus for Season 2] was more like trying not to lose the thing we’d created.”
“Ben, you have a very organic process, and it’s actually kind of liberating, especially for a DP,” Gagné said. “As a DP, you want to make sure you’re on the right path for the director and using references, but you never want to lean in too heavily because you don’t want it to become something that’s already been made. It’s just about creating a language with the filmmaker and with the team where we can say one word and we all know what we’re talking about. So we come in with a plan, but then we’re also able to throw it away and create on the spot, understanding that ideas come from many places.”
The IndieWire Honors event took place at NeueHouse in Hollywood on Thursday, June 5 as hosted by comedian and “Hacks” breakout star Robby Hoffman. Other honorees for the evening included Ben Stiller, Colin Farrell, Ramy Youssef, Julianne Nicholson, Kathy Bates, and more.
