The Showrunner Reveals He Knows How The Apple TV+ Show Might Finish... For Now.
Vince Gilligan never anticipated that Pluribus would turn into a massive hit. “The viewers have been incredible,” Gilligan says. “I did not foresee the show being as talked about as it is, and it makes me overjoyed.”
With the first season of the acclaimed sci-fi show coming to an end—and a second season already in development—the writers' room recently discussed the audience reaction and whether it will impact the storyline of Pluribus.
On the Tremendous Fan Response
It would be easy to get distracted by the rampant praise and audience predictions regarding Pluribus. He is making a conscious effort to ignore the noise.
“It's like being an endless supply of your favorite dessert and being tickled to death,” he says. “It's amazing, but I hear about it from others, and that's intentional. Never in my life Googled myself, nor do I ever intend to. It's not a lack of interest. It's a deep trap I know I would get lost in and then I'd be living in squalor from the hardware store and I'd rarely emerge from my living room.”
In spite of trying to stay away, there’s no way to avoid the extremely enthusiastic response to the series. The most practical strategy is to take it in stride and try not to let it alter the course of the show.
“We make no attempt to change the plot,” says co-executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The narrative we craft is not changed by audience chatter.”
“It's wiser to keep our heads down and working,” Gilligan concludes.
A Pressing Query: Has the showrunner See the Finale of Pluribus?
So if the writers aren't taking cues by fan response, can we assume they have already decided how Pluribus will finally conclude? Essentially yes… with some caveats.
“There are some compelling concepts about where the show might end up,” Gilligan says. “however, we remain prepared to discard a decent plan for a better idea. That has held us in well on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We throw stuff out when we find a more perfect path and I imagine we will be doing that.”
Then again, if they hit a wall, director and writer Gordon Smith has a rather amusing idea to fall back on.
“My recurring proposal is that the entire story is inside a snow globe, and that we'll zoom out in the finale and the characters are inside it,” Smith jokes, “but nobody's taking me up on that.”
Of course, why not reference the classics?
“I want Carol to awaken with Bob Newhart there,” Gilligan says with a smile.
Pluribus is currently available on Apple TV+.
