The Showrunner Reveals He Knows How His Sci-Fi Series Will End... At the Moment.
The acclaimed writer-producer never anticipated that Pluribus would emerge as a breakout success. “God bless the fans,” he remarks. “I was surprised by the show being as talked about as it is, and it makes me deliriously happy.”
With the first season of the acclaimed program wrapping up—and the next chapter officially in the works—the writers' room reflected on the audience reaction and whether it will influence the future direction of Pluribus.
About the Incredible Audience Reaction
It would be easy to get swayed by the rampant praise and online debates surrounding Pluribus. Gilligan, however, is striving to ignore the noise.
“It's like being constantly eating hot fudge sundaes and being in a state of bliss,” he describes. “It's wonderful, but I get wind of it through word of mouth, and that's intentional. Not once have I 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 fall into and then I'd be pooping in a five gallon bucket from the hardware store and I'd be stuck in my living room.”
Regardless of Gilligan’s best intentions, there’s no way to avoid the extremely enthusiastic response to the series. The only approach for the writers is to take it in stride and try not to let it influence the direction of the show.
“It is not our goal to tailor anything,” says Alison Tatlock. “Our storytelling is not changed by audience chatter.”
“Better to keep our focus on the work,” Gilligan concludes.
The Central Mystery: Does the showrunner Have a Plan for the Conclusion of Pluribus?
So if Gilligan and his team aren't taking cues by public opinion, does that mean they already know how Pluribus will reach its endpoint? The answer is yes… sort of.
“There are some interesting ideas about how the story could conclude,” Gilligan says. “yet we stand ready to discard a good idea for a more brilliant plan. That philosophy has guided us in good stead on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We change course when we conceive of something superior and I suspect we'll 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 it's all in a snow globe, and that we'll reveal the snow globe and that's where they've been all along,” Smith jokes, “but no one is buying it.”
Of course, why not reference the classics?
“I'd love for Carol to wake up in bed with Bob Newhart there,” he jokes.
Pluribus is currently available on Apple TV.
