The Showrunner Reveals He Has an Idea of How The Apple TV+ Show Will End... For Now.
The creative mastermind did not foresee that Pluribus would turn into a breakout success. “The viewers have been incredible,” he remarks. “It was unexpected the show being as widely discussed as it is, and it makes me thrilled beyond words.”
With the first season of the popular sci-fi show wrapping up—and the next chapter greenlit and underway—the writers' room reflected on the audience reaction and whether it will impact the storyline of Pluribus.
About the Overwhelming Fan Response
It would be easy to get swayed by the rampant praise and audience predictions regarding Pluribus. He is striving to steer clear of all that.
“It feels like an endless supply of hot fudge sundaes and being tickled to death,” he describes. “It's wonderful, but I hear about it anecdotally, and that's on purpose. Never in my life Googled myself, nor do I ever want to. It's not a lack of interest. It's a rabbit hole I know I would fall into and then I'd be living in squalor from Home Depot and I'd never leave my living room.”
In spite of his concerted efforts, there’s no way to avoid the immensely favorable response to the series. The best he and his team can do is to acknowledge it humbly and try not to let it influence the direction of the show.
“We make no attempt to adjust our writing,” says co-executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The plot we develop is not changed by audience chatter.”
“Better to keep our heads down and working,” Gilligan adds.
A Pressing Query: Has Vince Gilligan Have a Plan for the Finale of Pluribus?
So if Gilligan and his team aren't taking cues by audience theories, does it imply they have already decided how Pluribus will reach its endpoint? In short yes… with some caveats.
“There are some potential directions about the ultimate destination,” Gilligan says. “however, we remain prepared to abandon a solid concept for a better idea. That philosophy has guided us in excellent shape on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We throw stuff out when we get a better idea and I imagine we will be doing that.”
Then again, if all else fails, director and writer Gordon Smith has a humorous idea to fall back on.
“I constantly suggest that the entire story is inside a snow globe, and that we'll reveal the snow globe and that's where they've been all along,” Smith jokes, “but no one is buying it.”
Of course, one could always use the classics?
“My dream is Carol to wake up in bed with Bob Newhart there,” he jokes.
Pluribus is streaming now on Apple TV+.
