Vince Gilligan Reveals He Has a Plan for How The Apple TV+ Show Will Conclude... Currently.
The acclaimed writer-producer never anticipated that Pluribus would emerge as a cultural phenomenon. “I am so grateful to the audience,” he remarks. “I was surprised by the show being as widely discussed as it is, and it makes me deliriously happy.”
With the first season of the popular series coming to an end—and Season 2 greenlit and underway—Gilligan and his team reflected on the fan response and whether it will shape the storyline of Pluribus.
On the Incredible Fan Response
It would be easy to get distracted by the constant speculation and online debates regarding Pluribus. The creator is doing his best to steer clear of all that.
“The experience is akin to an endless supply of your favorite dessert and being laughing uncontrollably,” he describes. “It's wonderful, but I get wind of it anecdotally, and that's on purpose. I have never searched for my own name online, nor do I ever intend to. Not because I don't care. It's a bottomless pit I know I would get lost in and then I'd be never leaving the house from the hardware store and I'd never leave my living room.”
Despite Gilligan’s best intentions, there’s it's impossible to ignore the extremely enthusiastic response to the series. The most practical strategy is to acknowledge it humbly and try not to let it alter the course of the show.
“We make no attempt to change the plot,” says writer and executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The narrative we craft is not changed by audience chatter.”
“We prefer to keep our focus on the work,” Gilligan adds.
A Pressing Query: Does the showrunner See the Finale of Pluribus?
Given that the creative staff aren't taking cues by fan response, can we assume they have mapped out how Pluribus will finally conclude? Essentially yes… in a way.
“There are some interesting ideas about where the show might end up,” Gilligan reveals. “but we are always ready to abandon a solid concept for a superior concept. This approach has served us in well on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We change course when we get a better idea and I suspect we'll be doing that.”
Then again, if they hit a wall, executive producer Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to serve as a last resort.
“My recurring proposal is that it's all in a snow globe, and that we'll pull back at the end and we're in there,” he says humorously, “but no one is buying it.”
Of course, one could always use the legendary finales?
“My dream is Carol to awaken with Bob Newhart there,” he jokes.
Pluribus is streaming now on Apple TV+.
