The 'Breaking Bad' Creator Discloses He Knows How Pluribus Will End... At the Moment.
The acclaimed writer-producer could not have predicted that Pluribus would become a cultural phenomenon. “God bless the fans,” he remarks. “It was unexpected the show being as talked about as it is, and it makes me thrilled beyond words.”
Now that Season 1 of the acclaimed program wrapping up—and Season 2 greenlit and underway—the creative team recently discussed the viewer reception and whether it will impact the storyline of Pluribus.
On the Overwhelming Fan Response
It would be easy to get sidetracked by the rampant praise and audience predictions regarding Pluribus. He is doing his best to avoid both.
“It feels like constantly eating something incredibly sweet and being in a state of bliss,” he describes. “It's the greatest thing, but I hear about it through word of mouth, and that's intentional. Never in my life searched for my own name online, nor do I ever intend to. It's quite the opposite. It's a rabbit hole I know I would fall into and then I'd be pooping in a five gallon bucket from Home Depot and I'd never leave my living room.”
Regardless of trying to stay away, 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 dictate the story of the show.
“We make no attempt to tailor anything,” says writer and executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The plot we develop is not impacted by audience chatter.”
“Better to keep our noses to the grindstone,” Gilligan adds.
The Big Question: Will the showrunner Have a Plan for the Conclusion of Pluribus?
Considering the writers aren’t being guided by audience theories, does it imply they already know how Pluribus will ultimately end? In short yes… sort of.
“We have some interesting ideas about the ultimate destination,” Gilligan reveals. “but we are always ready to throw out a good idea for a more brilliant plan. 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 imagine we will be doing that.”
On the other hand, if plans fall through, director and writer Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to serve as a last resort.
“My recurring proposal is that it's all in a snow globe, and that we'll zoom out in the finale and that's where they've been all along,” Smith quips, “but no one is buying it.”
Of course, why not reference the iconic TV endings?
“I want Carol to open her eyes next to Bob Newhart,” he jokes.
Pluribus is streaming now on Apple TV.
