Vince Gilligan Shares He Knows How His Sci-Fi Series Will Conclude... For Now.
The creative mastermind never anticipated that the Apple TV+ show would emerge as a breakout success. “I am so grateful to the audience,” he remarks. “I was surprised by the show being as widely discussed as it is, and it makes me thrilled beyond words.”
Now that Season 1 of the acclaimed sci-fi show reaching its finale—and the next chapter officially in the works—the writers' room reflected on the fan response and whether it will shape the future direction of Pluribus.
About the Incredible Audience Reaction
One could easily to get sidetracked by the rampant praise and fan theories regarding Pluribus. Gilligan, however, is striving to ignore the noise.
“It feels like constantly eating your favorite dessert and being tickled to death,” he describes. “It's the greatest thing, but I learn of it from others, and that's on purpose. I have never searched for my own name online, nor do I ever want to. It's quite the opposite. It's a deep trap I know I would get lost in and then I'd be never leaving the house from Home Depot and I'd be stuck in my living room.”
In spite of trying to stay away, there’s no way to avoid the extremely enthusiastic response to the series. The best he and his team can do is to take it in stride and try not to let it influence the direction of the show.
“It is not our goal to change the plot,” says co-executive producer Alison Tatlock. “Our storytelling is not changed by audience chatter.”
“Better to keep our noses to the grindstone,” Gilligan adds.
The Big Question: Does the showrunner Have a Plan for the Ending of Pluribus?
So if the writers aren't taking cues by fan response, can we assume they have already decided how Pluribus will ultimately end? The answer is yes… with some caveats.
“We have some interesting ideas about how the story could conclude,” Gilligan reveals. “but we are always ready to discard a decent plan for a superior concept. That philosophy has guided us in excellent shape on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We throw stuff out when we conceive of something superior and I imagine we will be doing that.”
On the other hand, if they hit a wall, Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to serve as a last resort.
“My recurring proposal is that it's all in a snow globe, and that we'll pull back at the end and we're in there,” Smith jokes, “but no one is buying it.”
Alternatively, why not reference the iconic TV endings?
“My dream is Carol to awaken beside Bob Newhart,” Gilligan says with a smile.
Pluribus can be watched on Apple TV+.
