The 'Breaking Bad' Creator Shares He Knows How His Sci-Fi Series Will End... Currently.
Vince Gilligan did not foresee that Pluribus would emerge as a breakout success. “God bless the fans,” he states. “I did not foresee the show being as passionately debated as it is, and it makes me deliriously happy.”
Now that Season 1 of the popular sci-fi show reaching its finale—and Season 2 officially in the works—the writers' room reflected on the audience reaction and whether it will impact the future direction of Pluribus.
Regarding the Overwhelming Viewer Reception
It would be easy to get swayed by the widespread acclaim and fan theories about Pluribus. The creator is doing his best to steer clear of all that.
“The experience is akin to an endless supply of your favorite dessert and being laughing uncontrollably,” he explains. “It's wonderful, but I hear about it from others, and that's intentional. I have never searched for my own name online, nor do I ever want to. Not because I don't care. It's a rabbit hole I know I would fall into and then I'd be never leaving the house from the hardware store and I'd never leave my living room.”
Regardless of his concerted efforts, there’s it's impossible to ignore the extremely enthusiastic 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.
“It is not our goal to change the plot,” says Alison Tatlock. “The narrative we craft is not changed by what people are saying.”
“Better to keep our noses to the grindstone,” he chimes in.
The Central Mystery: Will the showrunner See the Finale of Pluribus?
Given that Gilligan and his team aren’t being guided by public opinion, does it imply they already know how Pluribus will reach its endpoint? In short yes… with some caveats.
“We have some potential directions about how the story could conclude,” Gilligan says. “but we are always ready to throw out a good idea for a better idea. That philosophy has guided us in well on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We change course when we get a better idea and I imagine we will be doing that.”
On the other hand, if they hit a wall, executive producer Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to fall back on.
“I keep pitching that everything takes place within a snow globe, and that we'll reveal the snow globe and we're in there,” Smith quips, “but nobody's taking me up on that.”
Then again, why mess with the classics?
“I want Carol to open her eyes with Bob Newhart there,” Gilligan adds, smiling.
Pluribus is streaming now on Apple TV.
