The Showrunner Reveals He Knows How The Apple TV+ Show Might Finish... For Now.
Vince Gilligan never anticipated that the Apple TV+ show would turn into a cultural phenomenon. “The viewers have been incredible,” he states. “It was unexpected the show being as passionately debated as it is, and it makes me thrilled beyond words.”
With the first season of the hit sci-fi show reaching its finale—and Season 2 officially in the works—the writers' room recently discussed the viewer reception and whether it will influence the storyline of Pluribus.
On the Tremendous Viewer Reception
One could easily to get sidetracked by the rampant praise and fan theories surrounding Pluribus. Gilligan, however, is doing his best to avoid both.
“It feels like force fed hot fudge sundaes and being tickled to death,” he describes. “It's amazing, but I hear about it from others, and that's by design. I have never Googled myself, nor do I ever want to. It's not a lack of interest. It's a bottomless pit I know I would fall into and then I'd be never leaving the house from the hardware store and I'd be stuck in my living room.”
In spite of Gilligan’s best intentions, there’s it's impossible to ignore the overwhelmingly positive response to the series. The only approach for the writers is to accept it graciously and try not to let it influence the direction of the show.
“It is not our goal to adjust our writing,” says Alison Tatlock. “The plot we develop is not influenced by what people are saying.”
“It's wiser to keep our focus on the work,” Gilligan adds.
The Central Mystery: Will Vince Gilligan See the Conclusion of Pluribus?
So if the writers aren’t being guided by fan response, does that mean they already know how Pluribus will finally conclude? Essentially yes… sort of.
“There are some interesting ideas about where the show might end up,” Gilligan reveals. “yet we stand ready to discard a decent plan for a more brilliant plan. This approach has served us in good stead on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We throw stuff out when we conceive of something superior 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.
“I keep pitching that everything takes place within a snow globe, and that we'll pull back at the end and we're in there,” he says humorously, “but nobody's taking me up on that.”
Of course, why mess with the legendary finales?
“I'd love for Carol to awaken beside Bob Newhart,” he jokes.
Pluribus is streaming now on the streaming service.
