Vince Gilligan Reveals He Has an Idea of How The Apple TV+ Show Might Finish... At the Moment.
The creative mastermind never anticipated that Pluribus would emerge as a breakout success. “The viewers have been incredible,” Gilligan says. “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 program wrapping up—and the next chapter officially in the works—the creative team reflected on the fan response and whether it will impact the future direction of Pluribus.
On the Tremendous Audience Reaction
One could easily to get swayed by the rampant praise and online debates about Pluribus. The creator is doing his best to avoid both.
“It's like being constantly eating something incredibly sweet and being tickled to death,” he explains. “It's the greatest thing, but I hear about it through word of mouth, and that's on purpose. Never in my life searched for my own name online, nor do I ever want to. Not because I don't care. It's a bottomless pit I know I would get lost in and then I'd be living in squalor from Home Depot and I'd be stuck in my living room.”
In spite of his concerted efforts, there’s no way to avoid the immensely favorable response to the series. The most practical strategy is to acknowledge it humbly and try not to let it dictate the story of the show.
“We make no attempt to tailor anything,” says co-executive producer Alison Tatlock. “Our storytelling is not impacted by audience chatter.”
“We prefer to keep our noses to the grindstone,” Gilligan adds.
The Big Question: Will the creator See the Ending of Pluribus?
So if the writers aren't taking cues by audience theories, does it imply they have mapped out how Pluribus will ultimately end? The answer is yes… with some caveats.
“We've developed some potential directions about where the show might end up,” Gilligan says. “however, we remain prepared to throw out a decent plan for a better idea. That has held us in excellent shape on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We scrap ideas when we find a more perfect path and I suspect we'll be doing that.”
On the other hand, if all else fails, executive producer Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to fall back on.
“I keep pitching that it's all in 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 iconic TV endings?
“I want Carol to open her eyes next to Bob Newhart,” Gilligan adds, smiling.
Pluribus is streaming now on the streaming service.
