The Showrunner Reveals He Has an Idea of How Pluribus Will Conclude... At the Moment.
The creative mastermind could not have predicted that Pluribus would turn into a massive hit. “God bless the fans,” Gilligan says. “I was surprised by the show being as talked about as it is, and it makes me overjoyed.”
As the debut season of the popular program reaching its finale—and Season 2 greenlit and underway—the writers' room opened up about the fan response and whether it will shape the future direction of Pluribus.
On the Overwhelming Audience Reaction
It would be easy to get distracted by the rampant praise and audience predictions regarding Pluribus. Gilligan, however, is making a conscious effort to ignore the noise.
“It's like being force fed hot fudge sundaes and being laughing uncontrollably,” he says. “It's the greatest thing, but I get wind of it from others, and that's by design. Never in my life looked myself up on the internet, nor do I ever plan to. Not because I don't care. It's a rabbit hole I know I would fall into and then I'd be living in squalor from Home Depot and I'd rarely emerge from my living room.”
Despite Gilligan’s best intentions, there’s it's impossible to ignore the overwhelmingly positive response to the series. The most practical strategy is to take it in stride and try not to let it dictate the story of the show.
“We don't try to adjust our writing,” says Alison Tatlock. “Our storytelling is not changed by online forums.”
“It's wiser to keep our noses to the grindstone,” Gilligan concludes.
The Big Question: Has Vince Gilligan Know the Conclusion of Pluribus?
Considering the writers aren't taking cues by fan response, can we assume they have already decided how Pluribus will reach its endpoint? The answer is yes… with some caveats.
“We've developed some potential directions about where the show might end up,” Gilligan says. “yet we stand ready to throw out 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.”
Alternatively, if plans fall through, Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to serve as a last resort.
“I keep pitching that the entire story is inside a snow globe, and that we'll zoom out in the finale and the characters are inside it,” he says humorously, “though the idea hasn't gained traction.”
Of course, one could always use the iconic TV endings?
“I want Carol to open her eyes next to Bob Newhart,” Gilligan says with a smile.
Pluribus is streaming now on Apple TV.