Drive an hour south of New York City and you’ll come to the town of Holmdel, New Jersey. Among the local landmarks is a building once called Bell Labs and now known as Bell Works. Even if you’ve never been near Monmouth County, however, you might be familiar with this building — its exterior and lobby play a significant role in the AppleTV+ series Severance, which concluded its second season last month.
Full disclosure: I grew up about 15 minutes away from the building in question, and it was very surreal to see it turn up in the first season of Severance. It’s become even weirder to find out that Severance fans have begun making pilgrimages to the building. Perhaps not that strange, though — the allure of an Eero Saarinen-designed building isn’t exactly hard to pinpoint. (And between Severance and Yellowjackets, it’s a good time for central Jersey on the small screen.)
All of which is to say that it wasn’t completely out of nowhere when Bell Works announced a pop-up Severance experience this weekend. The series is currently AppleTV+’s most-watched show, after all. And when I arrived at BellWorks on Sunday afternoon, I passed someone wearing a Kier hoodie within about 15 seconds of walking through the door. The presence of “Lumon Is Listening” on digital signage throughout the space was another cue that things were a little different this weekend. (There was also a VIP event the night before, footage of which is now available on AppleTV+’s YouTube channel.)
Bell Works’ social media posts about the event included a few details, including the presence of thematic cocktails and food at some of the space’s eateries. The main attraction was a reconstruction of the goat room that factored into the second season, though the goats therein were models rather than actual animals. Several of the motivational breakroom posters from the show adorned one wall, and a vending machine with one juice box inside served as the backdrop for many a selfie.
The props did lead to one of the afternoon’s more surreal moments, as it was entirely possible to hear phrases like “Are you behind the goats?” while wandering through the cavernous space. It was also interesting to see which of the businesses within Bell Works ran with the theme: martial arts academy Armor Studios had labeled two entryways with “Inny Door” and “Outy Door,” for instance.
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What lies ahead for Mark S. and Helly R.? And where the hell did that marching band come from?If taking a selfie with a fake goat in the background or trying the Lumoncello Martini at Bar Bella piqued your interest, it isn’t hard to see the appeal of this pop-up exhibit. Fundamentally, though, the real draw here is likely the same thing that drew Severance’s creators to the building itself: it’s a stunning work of architecture. And if an event like this can draw more people out to appreciate the aesthetic that went into creating it, so much the better.
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