The Showrunner Shares He Has a Plan for How Pluribus Might Finish... For Now.
The creative mastermind could not have predicted that his new science-fiction series would turn into a breakout success. “The viewers have been incredible,” 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 popular sci-fi show wrapping up—and a second season officially in the works—the creative team recently discussed the fan response and whether it will influence the narrative path of Pluribus.
On the Overwhelming Fan Response
It would be easy to get distracted by the rampant praise and audience predictions surrounding Pluribus. Gilligan, however, is making a conscious effort to ignore the noise.
“The experience is akin to constantly eating something incredibly sweet and being laughing uncontrollably,” he describes. “It's wonderful, but I hear about it through word of mouth, and that's on purpose. Not once have I searched for my own name online, nor do I ever plan to. It's not a lack of interest. 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 rarely emerge from my living room.”
Regardless of trying to stay away, there’s no way to avoid the overwhelmingly positive response to the series. The best he and his team can do is to accept it graciously and try not to let it alter the course of the show.
“We make no attempt to adjust our writing,” says writer and executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The plot we develop is not changed by audience chatter.”
“It's wiser to keep our focus on the work,” Gilligan concludes.
The Central Mystery: Has the creator See the Conclusion of Pluribus?
Considering the creative staff are not listening by public opinion, does it imply they have already decided how Pluribus will ultimately end? Essentially yes… sort of.
“We've developed some potential directions about the ultimate destination,” Gilligan reveals. “but we are always ready to throw out a decent plan for a more brilliant plan. That has held us in well on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We scrap ideas when we find a more perfect path and I expect we'll continue doing that.”
On the other hand, if they hit a wall, executive producer Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to fall back on.
“My recurring proposal is that the entire story is inside a snow globe, and that we'll pull back at the end and that's where they've been all along,” he says humorously, “but nobody's taking me up on that.”
Then again, why mess with the iconic TV endings?
“I want Carol to wake up in bed beside Bob Newhart,” Gilligan says with a smile.
Pluribus is currently available on the streaming service.
