Dan Erickson is an American television screenwriter, showrunner, and producer. He created the thriller television show Severance, starring Adam Scott and directed by Ben Stiller, which premiered on the Apple TV+ streaming service in February 2022. Erickson is from Olympia, Washington. He is a middle child, with an older brother named Matt and a younger sister named Hayley. Erickson has stated that he is very close with both siblings, and that they inspired characters on Severance. He has written for Spike TV's Lip Sync Battle Pre-Show and worked in series development for now-defunct entertainment company Super Deluxe. He wrote the pilot script for Severance, which eventually went into production. In 2019, Apple TV+ picked up the project for a straight-to-series order. Severance premiered on February 18th, 2022 on Apple's streaming service to numerous positive reviews.