The Showrunner Shares He Has an Idea of How Pluribus Will Conclude... For Now.
The creative mastermind never anticipated that the Apple TV+ show would emerge as a massive hit. “I am so grateful to the audience,” he remarks. “I did not foresee the show being as passionately debated as it is, and it makes me deliriously happy.”
With the first season of the popular program coming to an end—and the next chapter already in development—the writers' room reflected on the viewer reception and whether it will impact the narrative path of Pluribus.
On the Overwhelming Audience Reaction
Anyone might to get sidetracked by the widespread acclaim and audience predictions surrounding Pluribus. The creator is doing his best to steer clear of all that.
“The experience is akin to constantly eating your favorite dessert and being tickled to death,” he says. “It's wonderful, but I hear about it anecdotally, and that's by design. Not once have I looked myself up on the internet, nor do I ever want to. Not because I don't care. It's a bottomless pit I know I would disappear down and then I'd be living in squalor from Home Depot and I'd be stuck in my living room.”
Regardless of Gilligan’s best intentions, there’s no escaping the overwhelmingly positive response to the series. The best he and his team can do is to take it in stride and try not to let it dictate the story of the show.
“We don't try to change the plot,” says co-executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The narrative we craft is not impacted by audience chatter.”
“Better to keep our focus on the work,” he chimes in.
The Big Question: Has Vince Gilligan Have a Plan for the Conclusion of Pluribus?
Given that the creative staff aren't taking cues by audience theories, does it imply they have already decided how Pluribus will ultimately end? The answer is yes… sort of.
“There are some compelling concepts about the ultimate destination,” he states. “but we are always ready to throw out a good idea for a superior concept. That philosophy has guided us in good stead on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We scrap ideas when we get a better idea and I suspect we'll be doing that.”
Then again, if all else fails, executive producer Gordon Smith has a humorous idea to use as a backup.
“My recurring proposal is that the entire story is inside a snow globe, and that we'll reveal the snow globe and the characters are inside it,” he says humorously, “but no one is buying it.”
Of course, why not reference the legendary finales?
“My dream is Carol to wake up in bed beside Bob Newhart,” he jokes.
Pluribus is currently available on the streaming service.
