The Showrunner Discloses He Has a Plan for How His Sci-Fi Series Might Finish... At the Moment.
The acclaimed writer-producer could not have predicted that the Apple TV+ show would become a breakout success. “God bless the fans,” he remarks. “I did not foresee the show being as talked about as it is, and it makes me thrilled beyond words.”
Now that Season 1 of the acclaimed program coming to an end—and the next chapter greenlit and underway—the creative team opened up about the fan response and whether it will shape the narrative path of Pluribus.
Regarding the Tremendous Fan Response
It would be easy to get swayed by the widespread acclaim and online debates about Pluribus. He is doing his best to avoid both.
“The experience is akin to an endless supply of something incredibly sweet and being laughing uncontrollably,” he explains. “It's amazing, but I hear about it through word of mouth, and that's by design. I have never searched for my own name online, nor do I ever want to. It's not a lack of interest. It's a rabbit hole I know I would get lost in and then I'd be never leaving the house from the hardware store and I'd rarely emerge from my living room.”
Despite his concerted efforts, there’s no way to avoid the immensely favorable response to the series. The most practical strategy is to acknowledge it humbly and try not to let it dictate the story of the show.
“It is not our goal to adjust our writing,” says Alison Tatlock. “The narrative we craft is not influenced by online forums.”
“We prefer to keep our focus on the work,” Gilligan adds.
The Central Mystery: Will the creator See the Finale of Pluribus?
Considering the writers are not listening by audience theories, can we assume they already know how Pluribus will reach its endpoint? Essentially yes… sort of.
“We have some interesting ideas about the ultimate destination,” Gilligan says. “but we are always ready to discard a decent plan for a more brilliant plan. This approach has served us in good stead on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We throw stuff out when we conceive of something superior and I expect we'll continue doing that.”
Then again, if all else fails, director and writer Gordon Smith has a rather amusing idea to serve as a last resort.
“My recurring proposal is that everything takes place within a snow globe, and that we'll zoom out in the finale and the characters are inside it,” Smith quips, “though the idea hasn't gained traction.”
Then again, why not reference the classics?
“I'd love for Carol to awaken next to Bob Newhart,” he jokes.
Pluribus is streaming now on Apple TV+.
