The 'Breaking Bad' Creator Shares He Knows How The Apple TV+ Show Might Finish... At the Moment.
The creative mastermind did not foresee that Pluribus would become a massive hit. “I am so grateful to the audience,” Gilligan says. “It was unexpected the show being as widely discussed as it is, and it makes me overjoyed.”
As the debut season of the hit program reaching its finale—and the next chapter greenlit and underway—the creative team recently discussed the fan response and whether it will shape the future direction of Pluribus.
About the Incredible Audience Reaction
It would be easy to get distracted by the rampant praise and online debates about Pluribus. He is doing his best to ignore the noise.
“It feels like an endless supply of your favorite dessert and being tickled to death,” he explains. “It's amazing, but I hear about it anecdotally, and that's intentional. Not once have I searched for my own name online, nor do I ever intend to. It's quite the opposite. It's a bottomless pit I know I would get lost in and then I'd be pooping in a five gallon bucket from the hardware store and I'd be stuck in my living room.”
Despite 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 acknowledge it humbly and try not to let it alter the course of the show.
“We make no attempt to adjust our writing,” says writer and executive producer Alison Tatlock. “Our storytelling is not impacted by audience chatter.”
“It's wiser to keep our noses to the grindstone,” he chimes in.
The Central Mystery: Will the creator Have a Plan for the Conclusion of Pluribus?
Given that the writers aren't taking cues by fan response, can we assume they have already decided how Pluribus will reach its endpoint? Essentially yes… with some caveats.
“There are some interesting ideas about where the show might end up,” he states. “but we are always ready to throw out a good idea for a more brilliant plan. That has held us in good stead on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We scrap ideas when we conceive of something superior and I imagine we will be doing that.”
Alternatively, if all else fails, director and writer Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to fall back on.
“I keep pitching that everything takes place within a snow globe, and that we'll pull back at the end and that's where they've been all along,” Smith jokes, “but nobody's taking me up on that.”
Then again, why not reference the legendary finales?
“My dream is Carol to awaken with Bob Newhart there,” Gilligan adds, smiling.
Pluribus is streaming now on the streaming service.