Severance: Explore Real-Life Locations That Built Lumon's World

3. The Waterfront at Sunset Park – Brooklyn, New York (Helly’s Escape Attempt)

When Helly R. desperately attempts to flee Lumon, she finds herself outside in an expansive yet eerily lifeless industrial landscape—a place that should symbolize freedom but instead feels just as barren and oppressive as the world inside Lumon. This chilling scene was filmed at The Waterfront at Sunset Park in Brooklyn, New York, an area known for its harsh industrial aesthetic, sprawling warehouse structures, loading docks, and desolate piers. The lack of people, the monolithic, gray surroundings, and the distant skyline barely visible through the haze reinforce the inescapability of Helly’s predicament. The open space paradoxically feels just as suffocating as Lumon’s claustrophobic hallways, emphasizing the psychological manipulation at play—even in the outside world, Lumon’s presence looms large. The cold, sterile color palette and harsh lighting make the setting feel almost otherworldly, as though Helly has stepped from one prison into another, equally unwelcoming one. This location perfectly enhances the series’ theme that severance doesn’t just divide work and home—it makes reality itself feel unreal.