The Showrunner Reveals He Has a Plan for How The Apple TV+ Show Will Conclude... For Now.
The acclaimed writer-producer never anticipated that Pluribus would emerge as a massive hit. “I am so grateful to the audience,” he states. “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 sci-fi show wrapping up—and a second season officially in the works—the writers' room opened up about the viewer reception and whether it will impact the future direction of Pluribus.
On the Overwhelming Audience Reaction
It would be easy to get distracted by the constant speculation and online debates about Pluribus. He is making a conscious effort to steer clear of all that.
“It's like being force fed something incredibly sweet and being tickled to death,” he describes. “It's amazing, but I hear about it from others, and that's by design. Not once have I searched for my own name online, nor do I ever plan to. It's quite the opposite. It's a bottomless pit I know I would get lost in and then I'd be pooping in a five gallon bucket from Home Depot and I'd never leave my living room.”
Despite his concerted efforts, there’s no escaping the immensely favorable response to the series. The only approach for the writers is to take it in stride and try not to let it dictate the story of the show.
“It is not our goal to adjust our writing,” says co-executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The plot we develop is not influenced by online forums.”
“Better to keep our noses to the grindstone,” he chimes in.
The Big Question: Will the creator Know the Ending of Pluribus?
So if Gilligan and his team are not listening by audience theories, does that mean they have mapped out how Pluribus will finally conclude? The answer is yes… with some caveats.
“There are some interesting ideas about where the show might end up,” Gilligan says. “yet we stand ready to throw out a decent plan for a superior concept. This approach has served us in well on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We throw stuff out when we get a better idea and I expect we'll continue doing that.”
Alternatively, if all else fails, executive producer Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to fall back on.
“My recurring proposal is that it's all in a snow globe, and that we'll zoom out in the finale and we're in there,” Smith quips, “but nobody's taking me up on that.”
Of course, why mess with the iconic TV endings?
“I'd love for Carol to wake up in bed with Bob Newhart there,” Gilligan says with a smile.
Pluribus is streaming now on Apple TV+.
