The Showrunner Reveals He Has a Plan for How His Sci-Fi Series Will End... Currently.
The creative mastermind never anticipated that the Apple TV+ show would turn into a massive hit. “God bless the fans,” Gilligan says. “It was unexpected the show being as widely discussed as it is, and it makes me thrilled beyond words.”
With the first season of the acclaimed program coming to an end—and the next chapter already in development—Gilligan and his team recently discussed the fan response and whether it will influence the narrative path of Pluribus.
On the Tremendous Audience Reaction
It would be easy to get sidetracked by the widespread acclaim and online debates surrounding Pluribus. He is doing his best to ignore the noise.
“It feels like an endless supply of hot fudge sundaes and being laughing uncontrollably,” he says. “It's the greatest thing, but I hear about it anecdotally, and that's intentional. Never in my life searched for my own name online, 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 pooping in a five gallon bucket from the hardware store and I'd rarely emerge from my living room.”
Despite trying to stay away, there’s it's impossible to ignore the overwhelmingly positive 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 change the plot,” says writer and executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The narrative we craft is not changed by audience chatter.”
“Better to keep our heads down and working,” Gilligan concludes.
The Central Mystery: Will the showrunner Know the Ending of Pluribus?
So if the creative staff are not listening by audience theories, does it imply they already know how Pluribus will reach its endpoint? In short yes… in a way.
“We have some interesting ideas about where the show might end up,” Gilligan says. “however, we remain prepared to abandon a good idea for a superior concept. That philosophy has guided us in well on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We scrap ideas when we get a better idea and I imagine we will be doing that.”
Then again, if they hit a wall, executive producer Gordon Smith has a humorous idea to use as a backup.
“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 quips, “but no one is buying it.”
Then again, why not reference the legendary finales?
“I want Carol to awaken beside Bob Newhart,” Gilligan adds, smiling.
Pluribus is currently available on Apple TV+.
