It’s been five months since Severance’s devastating Season 2 finale aired on the 2025 TV schedule, and I still get excited at the mention of an ORTBO (it happens more often than you’d think in my house) or when I recall Mr. Milchick’s marching band performance. As big of a fan as I am, I still wouldn’t have expected the Apple TV+ series to come into play during a screening of Zoolander, another of Ben Stiller’s best creations, and yet here we are, being gifted the musical mash-up I never knew we needed.
On August 16, a showing of the 2001 comedy Zoolander was held at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where Ben Stiller made a surprise appearance as the titular character — a wildly exaggerated version of himself — to introduce the movie. That wasn’t the only bombshell of the evening, however, as the USC marching band then paraded onto the stage led by none other than Tramell Tillman. Check out the wild moment on Instagram:
Praise Kier, indeed! As cool as it was to see Tramell Tillman channeling his terrifying Mr. Milchick persona, the ridiculously good-looking actor Ben Stiller (as Derek Zoolander) was hoping for something more in line with the theme of the evening, saying (per Variety):
That’s great, but this is kind of more like a Zoolander thing than a Severance thing. So maybe you could, I don’t know, play like a Zoolandery type of song?
The Emmy-nominated Tramell Tillman immediately blew his whistle, with the band striking up the Powerman 5000 song “Relax,” which is featured in the movie. This appeased both the filmmaker and the crowd, who cheered as the band ran offstage and the movie began.
Despite Ben Stiller’s contribution to both Severance and Zoolander, I think it’s pretty safe to say that nobody would have ever expected a collaboration of the musical type between the two. This guy’s just full of surprises, though, because I certainly didn’t expect the Severance Season 2 finale to feature such an intricate number.
After the infamous Music Dance Experience in Severance Season 1 was one of the best music moments of that year, it was only natural that Ben Stiller and company would up the ante in Season 2. They did it in a big way, with Milchick first trading barbs with an animatronic Kier Eagan before going full band leader with a spirited performance to celebrate Mark S.’s completion of the Cold Harbor file.
If there was any question as to how good Severance’s second season was, just look at the record 27 Emmy nominations received by the show and its cast. At least we’ll have the awards show to look forward to as we deal with the long wait between Severance seasons.
We don’t yet know what Severance Season 3 will be about, but it will undoubtedly address the infuriating decision made by Mark (Adam Scott) at the end of the finale. In the meantime, at least we can continue to rewatch the first two seasons with our Apple TV+ subscriptions, and you never know when Tramell Tillman and the USC marching band will show up. Zoolander, meanwhile, is available to stream with a Netflix subscription or Paramount+ subscription.
