The Showrunner Shares He Knows How Pluribus Might Finish... For Now.
The creative mastermind could not have predicted that Pluribus would turn into a breakout success. “The viewers have been incredible,” he remarks. “I was surprised by the show being as widely discussed as it is, and it makes me overjoyed.”
With the first season of the popular program reaching its finale—and Season 2 greenlit and underway—the creative team opened up about the audience reaction and whether it will influence the future direction of Pluribus.
On the Tremendous Fan Response
It would be easy to get sidetracked by the constant speculation and online debates about Pluribus. He is striving to steer clear of all that.
“It feels like an endless supply of something incredibly sweet and being laughing uncontrollably,” he says. “It's amazing, but I get wind of it from others, and that's intentional. Never in my life looked myself up on the internet, nor do I ever intend to. Not because I don't care. It's a bottomless pit I know I would fall into and then I'd be living in squalor from Home Depot and I'd rarely emerge from my living room.”
Regardless of Gilligan’s best intentions, there’s no escaping the immensely favorable response to the series. The most practical strategy is to acknowledge it humbly and try not to let it influence the direction of the show.
“We make no attempt to tailor anything,” says co-executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The narrative we craft is not impacted by what people are saying.”
“Better to keep our focus on the work,” Gilligan adds.
A Pressing Query: Has Vince Gilligan See the Conclusion of Pluribus?
Given that the writers aren’t being guided by audience theories, can we assume they already know how Pluribus will finally conclude? In short yes… sort of.
“There are some interesting ideas about the ultimate destination,” Gilligan says. “however, we remain prepared to discard a solid concept for a more brilliant plan. This approach has served us in well on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We scrap ideas when we conceive of something superior and I imagine we will be doing that.”
On the other hand, if all else fails, director and writer Gordon Smith has a rather amusing idea to fall back on.
“I keep pitching that it's all in a snow globe, and that we'll zoom out in the finale and we're in there,” Smith jokes, “though the idea hasn't gained traction.”
Then again, why not reference the legendary finales?
“I want Carol to wake up in bed next to Bob Newhart,” Gilligan says with a smile.
Pluribus is streaming now on Apple TV+.
