Emmy-nominated 'Severance' cinematographer on her directorial debut (and making Adam Scott look hot in her episode)

Last month, when the 2025 Emmy nominations were announced, the show that got the most nominations was Apple TV’s Severance, the stylish science fiction psychological thriller executive produced by Ben Stiller.

Jessica Lee Gagné also made Emmy history by being the first woman to be nominated in both the categories of Cinematography and Directing for the same drama series in the same year.

The episode Gagné directed, "Chikhai Bardo," tells the backstory of the characters Mark and Gemma, played by Adam Scott and Dichen Lachman, and was one of the most talked about episodes of the season. And it was Gagné’s directorial debut.

LAist’s Antonia Cereijido sat down with Gagné to talk about her approach to the episode.

Interview excerpts have been edited and condensed for clarity.

Creating a fantasy for the female gaze

Antonia Cereijido:  My first question is, have you seen the edits? Do you know what I'm talking about?

Jessica Lee Gagné: I am terrified of watching anything that goes out about the show. I love the fact that people are into it and dedicated to it, but I can't watch.

Antonia Cereijido: Oh my gosh. It's amazing. For people who don't know what an edit is, it's [clips of] a specific actor or actress looking hot [set] to hot music. And Chikhai Bardo created such a sensation around Adam Scott [with] images of him, like holding a pen cap in his mouth. And I think it's proof of the rich fantasy that was created in that episode.

Jessica Lee Gagné: We wanted Adam to look hot! It's not that he's not a gorgeous man, it's just that in Severance he's someone who's been through a lot and you can feel the weight of his history. You can see it and he's someone who's stopped trying. So this was the world before [severance], and that was fun, but it was very intentional. We also wanted to cut his hair because I know his hair is a thing. I would like to watch the edits about his hair because I think those would be fun. Thank you for teaching me what a TikTok edit is.

Approaching pregnancy loss and family planning

Antonia Cereijido:  I have to tell you,  I was really scared to watch this episode because one of my best friends texted me, “this episode was incredible, but just a warning, there is pregnancy loss.” And I went through two pregnancy losses last year, so I was nervous to watch it.

Jessica Lee Gagné: Oh I’m sorry.

Antonia Cereijido: I'm actually due in October now, so I've come out on the other side.

Jessica Lee Gagné: Oh, congratulations!

Antonia Cereijido: Thank you. But  I loved the episode, specifically the part that most emotionally connected with me was the dynamic between Gemma and Mark. It made me wonder, if there were episodes of your own life that you culled from to get those performances?

Jessica Lee Gagné:  Definitely. A lot of people close to me influenced this episode. But when I saw that this was going in this direction, really that was one of the reasons I wanted to [direct] it. As a woman, I was like, 'there's no way we're letting a guy do this, they're not gonna get it.’

I'm 37 and I don't have kids, I don't have a partner. There's definitely sacrifices that I've made in my life for my career. And, you know, I can't help but think about these things — egg freezing, IVF, all these conversations are around me.

Just being someone who's put your career first and who's always kind of put other people first. And then, you find someone and you wanna make something happen and now is it too late? The energy that could bring in a couple when you're trying — it's tricky.

Smoothies and pre-made outfits: Going from cinematography to directing

Dichen Lachman and Sandra Bernhard in the "Chikhai Bardo" episode of "Severance" season 2.

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Antonia Cereijido:  You've been a cinematographer most of your career. This was your directorial debut. I imagine it's much different to be working with actors than working on the world that they inhabit. Is that a fair characterization? In really basic terms, what is the difference between doing cinematography versus directing an episode for Severance?

Jessica Lee Gagné: The difference is huge. Being a cinematographer on the show for years now, , it's a very technical approach. There's a lot of management that goes on, especially in season two, because we have multiple [directors of photography] and sometimes multiple units shooting simultaneously, and I am overseeing the visual language of the show.

But then moving into directing, it's this kind of exponential thing in terms of things you're taking care of. Every single department comes up to you and every decision is run by you. It never stops. Honestly, you almost wanna have pre-made outfits so that when you show up to work, you don't even have to think about anything. You don't even care what you're eating, what you're drinking. I had to stop eating solid foods while we were shooting, I would do smoothies with protein or whatever.

Antonia Cereijido: Wait… why?

Jessica Lee Gagné: Because I couldn't manage. Deciding what to eat or to think about that was just too much!

On what directing actually means

Jessica Lee Gagné: It took so much for me to actually trust myself and actually direct. I think I needed this thing to make it undeniable that I need to try, because I know I'm gonna fail.

I've had trouble accepting failure for a long time. I feel like cinematography — it's not that you can't fail in cinematography — but there's this thing I can hold in my hands, you know? And when you move into directing, you have to surrender more. It's not the same level of control.

Emmy-nominated cinematographer/director Jessica Lee Gagné.

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Emmanuelle Yang

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Antonia Cereijido: I feel like when you think of the director, you think they have all the ultimate control… but you're saying it's the opposite?

Jessica Lee Gagné: I see it as the opposite, because films are such uncontrollable things.

I really see it as a sailing metaphor. You have to harness the wind. You're not God. You're not really controlling everything. There are things that are gonna happen that you're never gonna see coming, and I felt like in cinematography I could plan for A, B, C, D, E and it would be fine. But when you go into directing, there's just so many things, that you kind of have to let go of some stuff.