The 'Breaking Bad' Creator Reveals He Has an Idea of How The Apple TV+ Show Will End... For Now.
The creative mastermind never anticipated that his new science-fiction series would turn into a massive hit. “The viewers have been incredible,” he states. “I did not foresee the show being as widely discussed as it is, and it makes me overjoyed.”
Now that Season 1 of the acclaimed sci-fi show coming to an end—and a second season already in development—the creative team opened up about the audience reaction and whether it will shape the storyline of Pluribus.
On the Incredible Audience Reaction
It would be easy to get distracted by the rampant praise and online debates about Pluribus. Gilligan, however, is doing his best to ignore the noise.
“The experience is akin to an endless supply of something incredibly sweet and being laughing uncontrollably,” he says. “It's the greatest thing, but I get wind of it from others, and that's on purpose. Never in my life looked myself up on the internet, nor do I ever intend to. It's not a lack of interest. It's a deep trap I know I would get lost in and then I'd be living in squalor from the hardware store and I'd never leave my living room.”
Despite trying to stay away, there’s it's impossible to ignore the extremely enthusiastic 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 tailor anything,” says co-executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The narrative we craft is not influenced by audience chatter.”
“We prefer to keep our noses to the grindstone,” Gilligan adds.
The Central Mystery: Has the showrunner Have a Plan for the Conclusion of Pluribus?
Given that the creative staff aren't taking cues by public opinion, does it imply they have already decided how Pluribus will ultimately end? Essentially yes… with some caveats.
“We've developed some interesting ideas about how the story could conclude,” he states. “yet we stand ready to discard a good idea for a superior concept. This approach has served 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 suspect we'll be doing that.”
Then again, if all else fails, Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to fall back on.
“I keep pitching that the entire story is inside a snow globe, and that we'll zoom out in the finale and that's where they've been all along,” he says humorously, “but no one is buying it.”
Alternatively, why not reference the legendary finales?
“My dream is Carol to wake up in bed with Bob Newhart there,” Gilligan says with a smile.
Pluribus is currently available on the streaming service.