The Spectacular Real-Life Building At The Heart Of Severance Is A Short Trip From New York City

If you can't get enough of "Severance," the hit Apple TV show that has everyone talking about innies and outies, then it's time to load up a "Defiant Jazz" playlist and hit the road. While most of the show takes place in the non-descript, oppressingly-white basement of "the severed floor," there is one real-life location that has been motivating superfans to take an unlikely road trip to Holmdel, New Jersey.

If you're coming from New York City, which is chock-full of its own iconic movie spots, it might seem like a long commute to look at the outside of an office building. However, this is far from an ordinary building. The Bell Labs Holmdel Complex once belonged to the influential research institution responsible for some of the biggest inventions of the 20th century, such as lasers and solar cells. The modernist design by architect Eero Saarinen, whose most famous project was the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, turned out to be the perfect backdrop to elicit the creepy vibes of the evil corporation that serves as the show's main antagonist.

Luckily for the show's biggest fans, getting to the real-life Lumon Headquarters to see this contemporary marvel is easier than dissecting and understanding the complexities of "Severance."

Not far from Millburn, a town of luxury and Americana vibes, Holmdel is one hour from NYC. You will be best off with your own set of wheels when trying to reach the complex. You could catch the train or bus from Manhattan, but then you'd need to rideshare the rest of the way. The bus from the Port Authority Bus Terminal is the fastest route and will get you there in about an hour. Take the Academy Bus Lines commuter bus southbound Lakehurst line and get off at the PNC Bank Arts Center at Telegraph Hill in Middletown, New Jersey. From here, it's easy to get rideshare and complete the last leg of the trip to the complex across the parkway in about 10 minutes. The train will take you as far as Hazlet, which is only about 12 minutes from the complex. 

The show doesn't have any other notable filming locations nearby. But if you're already in Jersey, consider continuing the prestige television filming location tour with iconic sites from HBO's "The Sopranos" like Holsten's Ice Cream Parlor in Bloomfield 36 miles away. Or, you can even stick with the office building theme at the Mack Center in Paramus which is the filming location of the pilot's iconic "we had coffee" scene.

You would have to be a very dedicated "Severance" fan to make a trip out to Holmdel just to see the outside of an office building. Luckily, this iconic mid-century building is open to the public and you can even grab lunch here. Bell Labs operated from the building from 1959 to 2007, but in 2016 it reopened as the Bell Works Complex. The "metroburb," is defined on its website as a "large-scale mixed-use building, with great access, office, retail, entertainment, hospitality, residential, health, wellness, fitness, everything you would find in a metropolis but in a great suburban location."

For a working office building, there is a surprising amount of things to do, although, sadly, accessing the severed floor to free the innies is not one of them. Firstly, be sure to check out the exhibition detailing all the technological achievements of Bell Labs. After that, you can explore The Block,  the complex's collection of shops and restaurants that mimics a "main street" vibe. You'll find more than 10 restaurants, including a bakery and an ice cream shop, and you can do a little retail therapy or bring the kids for family-friendly diversions like an escape room, a pickleball club, and indoor and outdoor golf facilities. Just look out for any goats that may have broken out from Lumon!