TV show Severance seems an awful lot like Scientology

Organizational Structure and Control

1. Severance mirrors Scientology's Sea Org by implementing a chip-based separation of work and personal lives, akin to Sea Org's 100-120 hour workweeks and isolation from the outside world.

2. The show's concept of "Innies" and "Outies" parallels Sea Org members' use of "shore stories" to explain their presence outside the organization, maintaining a strict separation between work and personal identities.

3. Strict no-fraternizing rules in Sea Org, prohibiting socializing and outside activities, are reflected in Severance's workplace environment where employees are siloed and lack external connections.

Manipulation and Indoctrination

4. Scientology's use of "success stories" to pressure members into writing glowing reviews, always thanking L. Ron Hubbard and David Miscavige, mirrors Severance's themes of control and manipulation.

5. The E-meter, resembling an Easy-Bake Oven, is used in Scientology interrogations to measure responses, similar to Severance's depiction of workplace control and monitoring.

6. All Scientology counseling sessions, called "confessionals", are recorded audio and video and digitally stored, regardless of the person's status, mirroring Severance's themes of surveillance and control.

Isolation and Difficulty Leaving

7. Leaving the Sea Org is extremely challenging due to isolation and lack of basic life skills like job experience, bank accounts, and driver's licenses, similar to the trapped state of Severance's employees.

8. The Sea Org hierarchy is likened to a skyscraper or spiderweb with no elevator down, making it increasingly difficult to leave as one moves up the ranks, paralleling Severance's exploration of workplace entrapment.

Psychological Conditioning

9. The ideal Sea Org member is described as an Android-like figure, devoid of emotions and personal relationships, focusing solely on organizational protocols, similar to Severance's depiction of conditioned employees.

10. Sea Org members become more scripted in communication with family over time, mirroring Severance's exploration of how workplace conditioning affects personal interactions.

Surveillance and Interrogation

11. Severance's "break room" interrogations mirror Scientology's security checks and ethics interviews, which are recorded and involve repetitive questioning until the desired response is achieved.

Recruitment and Public Perception

12. Scientology uses surveys to gather information from potential new members, referred to as "raw public," employing a global "Survey Network" to understand public perception and recruit new members.

Workplace Dynamics

13. Sea Org members are ranked based on their organization's prestige, with those at Golden Era Productions or Religious Technology Center considered among the highest, reflecting Severance's exploration of workplace hierarchies.

14. The Sea Org's mix of backstabbers, workaholics, and NPC-like members who blindly follow orders parallels Severance's depiction of diverse employee behaviors within a controlled environment.