The Showrunner Shares He Has a Plan for How Pluribus Might Finish... At the Moment.
The acclaimed writer-producer could not have predicted that the Apple TV+ show would turn into a cultural phenomenon. “I am so grateful to the audience,” he states. “I did not foresee the show being as widely discussed as it is, and it makes me deliriously happy.”
As the debut season of the popular sci-fi show coming to an end—and Season 2 already in development—Gilligan and his team reflected on the fan response and whether it will impact the future direction of Pluribus.
About the Tremendous Audience Reaction
One could easily to get swayed by the widespread acclaim and online debates surrounding Pluribus. He is striving to avoid both.
“It's like being constantly eating something incredibly sweet and being tickled to death,” he says. “It's wonderful, but I hear about it through word of mouth, and that's on purpose. I have never looked myself up on the internet, nor do I ever want to. Not because I don't care. It's a bottomless pit 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.”
In spite of trying to stay away, there’s it's impossible to ignore the immensely favorable response to the series. The most practical strategy is to accept it graciously and try not to let it dictate the story of the show.
“We make no attempt to tailor anything,” says writer and executive producer Alison Tatlock. “Our storytelling is not changed by audience chatter.”
“We prefer to keep our heads down and working,” Gilligan concludes.
A Pressing Query: Will the showrunner Have a Plan for the Finale of Pluribus?
So if the writers are not listening by fan response, does that mean they already know how Pluribus will reach its endpoint? Essentially yes… in a way.
“We've developed some interesting ideas about how the story could conclude,” Gilligan says. “yet we stand ready to throw out a decent plan for a better idea. This approach has served us in excellent shape on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We throw stuff out when we get a better idea and I imagine we will be doing that.”
Alternatively, if plans fall through, executive producer Gordon Smith has a rather amusing idea to use as a backup.
“My recurring proposal is that everything takes place within a snow globe, and that we'll zoom out in the finale and that's where they've been all along,” Smith quips, “but nobody's taking me up on that.”
Alternatively, why not reference the iconic TV endings?
“My dream is Carol to wake up in bed with Bob Newhart there,” Gilligan adds, smiling.
Pluribus is streaming now on Apple TV.
