The Apple TV+ workplace drama deepens the lore, explores the Innie-Outie conundrum, and fully establishes itself as the series to beat right now.

Fortunately, “Severance” returns to Apple TV+ on Friday, and its makers seem to have used every second of the absence productively. The season takes new turns while remaining the most ambitious, batty and all-out pleasurable show on TV, an M.C. Escher maze whose plot convolutions never get in the way of its voice, heart and sense of humor.

Severance Season 2 will delve deeper into corporate culture and the concept of a work-life balance. The sophomore season of Dan Erickson’s thriller series, which centers around a surgical procedure that separates the work self from the off-hours self,