Apple TV+ has been making big strides with its original programming, breaking out of the corners of genre to launch big mainstream crossover hits like Ted Lasso, The Morning Show, Severance, Silo, and more. The creative train isn’t slowing down, either: This week, Apple TV is premiering a new series from Vince Gilligan, the acclaimed creator and showrunner of AMC’s Breaking Bad and its spinoff series, Better Call Saul. In fact, that latter series became a showcase for actress Rhea Seehorn (who played attorney and Saul Goodman’s love interest/partner in crime, Kim Wexler; now, Seehorn is stepping into the starring role of Gilligan’s latest series, Pluribus.
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As of writing this, Pluribus is going into its premiere day with a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes; if that wasn’t enough acclaim, Apple TV is already showing massive confidence in the series by announcing that it has already been renewed for Season 2!
Pluribus Is No Breaking Bad Clone (And We Love That)
The plotline of Pluribus sees Rhea Seehorn playing “Carol Sturka,” an author of historical romance. After a massive viral outbreak transforms the world, Carol finds that she and nearly a dozen other people are the only ones immune to the virus. But instead of death, this virus and its infection transform the world’s citizens into a hive mind of relentless optimism and overall contentment. Unfortunately for Carol, she can’t buy into the happy world that has sprung up around her, and seeks to change it all back – before the rest of the world hive mind can figure out how to change her into one of them.
Obviously, with Pluribus, Vince Gilligan is taking a satirical chainsaw to a portrait of modern society, and all the tribal groupthink that has surged with social media and other socio-political developments. This is “the plight of the lonely creative,” taken to an extreme degree, but like Gilligan’s other work, there’s a whole lot of potential to mix humor, horror, social commentary, and deep character work into one compelling dramatic mix.
What Critics Are Saying About Pluribus
The two-episode premiere of Pluribus is all viewers have to go on (so far), but the reactions from critics definitely help make it clear why Apple is already pushing ahead with a Season 2 order.
“Like Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul before it, Pluribus never wastes audiences’ time with grand speeches and exposition that chew down the hard questions it raises,” ComicBook critic Marco Vito Oddo writes in his review. “Instead, Gilligan oversees a narrative that naturally exposes the complex philosophical questions of its unique concept. Carol’s complete rejection of the unification is a relatable reaction, as everything that makes us into recognizable people comes from our individuality… To see every nuance and idiosyncrasy suddenly erased is a violence Carol simply can’t process.” He also called Pluribus a “unique sci-fi series that makes the best of the creator’s greatest strengths.”
Variety’s Alison Herman took on the biggest question: Is Pluribus Apple TV’s next Severance? The answer is that the series (which has been wrapped in mystery) isn’t so much hinging on mysteries and reveals as other shows, but keeps you questioning just enough to be propelled through the series.
“Pluribus doesn’t have the same mystery box feel as Severance, its closest analog in the current Apple roster, though it invites plenty of questions, such as: What do the Joined want? Do they have some plan for what to do with all their pooled mental resources? And most pressingly for the lonely, furious Carol, is there a way to undo this sudden, total change?” Herman writes, noting that “There are also broader, more interpretive inquiries, like exactly what ideas Gilligan is getting at here.”
Pluribus: Where & When to Watch
Pluribus is now streaming on Apple TV+; it will run for nine episodes, which will be released weekly, starting with Episode 3 on November 14th. It can only be streamed on Apple TV+
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Image courtesy of Lucasfilm -
Image Courtesy of Warner Bros
