Dan Erickson

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Dan Erickson
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Born
Daniel Erickson

(1984-01-26) January 26, 1984 (age 40)
Olympia, Washington, U.S.
Alma mater
  • Western Washington University
  • NYU Tisch School of the Arts
Occupation
  • Television screenwriter
  • producer
Years active2011-present

Dan Erickson (born January 26, 1984) is an American television screenwriter, showrunner, and producer. He is best known for creating the thriller television show Severance, starring Adam Scott and directed by Ben Stiller, which premiered on the AppleTV+ streaming service in February 2022[1][2][3].

Early life and education

Dan Erickson was born and raised in Olympia, Washington, the son of a lawyer and a teacher. A middle child, he has an older brother and a younger sister. He went to Western Washington University, graduating with a BA in English, and then he obtained a Masters in Dramatic Writing from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.[1][4]

Career

After moving to Los Angeles, he wrote for SpikeTV’s Lip Sync Battle Pre-Show and worked in series development for now-defunct entertainment company Super Deluxe.[5] Then, ensuing several mind-numbing office jobs, Erickson wrote a pilot script called Severance based on a desire to completely forget one's work life after going home.[6][2] In 2016, this became first TV script ever to make the Bloodlist[7], a top selection of unproduced scripts in the genres of thrillers, horror, mystery, sci-fi and dark comedy. He then submitted Severance as a writing sample in his application for a staff writer position at Ben Stiller's Red Hour production company, who found the idea interesting so they moved forward with developing his pilot into a full show.[8] In 2019, AppleTV+ picked up the project for a straight-to-series order.[9] At the time, Erickson was making ends meet driving for delivery company Postmates.[10] The freshman screenwriter spent the next few years co-showrunning his creation, mostly during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] Severance premiered on February 18th, 2022 on Apple's streaming service to numerous positive reviews.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

Erickson’s work is in part inspired by his own past experiences working in various corporations:[19][20][21]

I worked a string of office jobs when I first got to L.A., and one in particular was in this weird little windowless office. And I would be doing these sort of weird, seemingly meaningless, repetitive tasks all day long and it was just mind-numbing. And I caught myself one day walking in thinking, “Man, I wish I could just totally not experience the next eight hours. I wish I could disassociate and just have it be 5 and suddenly I’m going home.” And it occurred to me that that’s kind of a messed up thing to catch yourself wishing for, considering we have limited, precious time on this Earth, and here I was wishing I could give some of it back. It really was born of my own corporate misery.[2]

Personal life

Erickson is currently single and based in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Year Title Writer Producer
2011 League of Wonder (short) Yes No
2016-2018 Lip Sync Battle Preshow Yes No
2022 Severance Yes Yes

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Olympia screenwriter Dan Erickson on 'Severance' and its long journey to Apple TV+". The Seattle Times. 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Maas, Jennifer; Maas, Jennifer (2022-06-19). "The Insidious, Cryptic World of 'Severance': How Ben Stiller, Adam Scott and More Brought 'Strange Humor' to Apple's Workplace Thriller". Variety. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  3. ↑ Francisco, Eric. "'Severance' is the sci-fi thriller every office worker needs — here's why". Inverse. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  4. ↑ "DAN ERICKSON – Heroes and Villains". Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  5. ↑ Piazza, Bianca (2022-03-28). "Dan Erickson Is the Imaginative Creator and Writer of Sci-Fi Series 'Severance' — Let's Explore His Work". Distractify. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  6. ↑ Fleming, Ryan (2022-02-22). "It Starts On The Page: Read Dan Erickson's Script For 'Severance's Season 1 Finale". Deadline. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  7. ↑ "2016 BloodList, Including Fresh Blood Winners | BloodLIst". www.bloodlist.com. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  8. ↑ Nast, Condé (2022-02-22). "Adam Scott Goes Back to Work". GQ. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  9. ↑ Ausiello, Michael; Ausiello, Michael (2019-11-08). "Adam Scott 'Workplace Thriller' Severance Snags Apple TV+ Series Order; Ben Stiller to EP and Direct". TVLine. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  10. ↑ GrandmasBoii (2022-02-24). "Dan Erickson, the person who wrote the spec script for Severance, was delivering Postmates the day it was sold to Apple…". r/SeveranceAppleTVPlus. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  11. ↑ "Severance: Apple TV+'s new thriller didn't have a smooth ride during production". AppleMagazine. 2022-02-27. Retrieved 2022-03-01.
  12. ↑ Travers, Ben; Travers, Ben (2022-02-16). "'Severance' Review: Ben Stiller Directs a Brilliant Corporate Conspiracy Thriller That's All Too Real". IndieWire. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  13. ↑ Tallerico, Brian. "Adam Scott Leads Brilliantly Original Workplace Drama Severance". RogerEbert. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  14. ↑ Fienberg, Daniel; Fienberg, Daniel (2022-02-16). "Apple TV+'s 'Severance': TV Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  15. ↑ "'Severance' Apple TV Plus Review: Stream It Or Skip It?". Decider. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  16. ↑ Nelson, Samantha (2022-02-18). "Severance Premiere Review - "Good News About Hell" and "Half Loop"". IGN. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  17. ↑ Poniewozik, James (2022-02-17). "'Severance' Review: That Makes Two of You". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
  18. ↑ Gilbert, Sophie (2022-02-25). "When Work Is a Terrifying Dystopia". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  19. ↑ Stefansky, Emma (2022-04-08). "'Severance' Creator Dan Erickson Knows Exactly What the Goats Are For". Thrillist. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  20. ↑ Khosla, Proma (2022-06-04). "'Severance' Creator Knew He Had a Hit the First Time He Saw the Memes". IndieWire. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  21. ↑ Coates, Tyler (2022-06-07). "How 'Severance' Reflects Collective Struggle Achieving the Elusive Work-Life Balance". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-06-19.

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