The Showrunner Reveals He Has a Plan for How The Apple TV+ Show Will Conclude... Currently.
The creative mastermind did not foresee that the Apple TV+ show would emerge as a breakout success. “God bless the fans,” Gilligan says. “I did not foresee the show being as passionately debated as it is, and it makes me thrilled beyond words.”
Now that Season 1 of the hit sci-fi show wrapping up—and a second season officially in the works—Gilligan and his team opened up about the fan response and whether it will influence the storyline of Pluribus.
About the Incredible Fan Response
Anyone might to get distracted by the widespread acclaim and online debates regarding Pluribus. Gilligan, however, is doing his best to avoid both.
“It feels like force fed your favorite dessert and being tickled to death,” he explains. “It's wonderful, but I get wind of it anecdotally, and that's by design. Never in my life searched for my own name online, nor do I ever want to. It's not a lack of interest. It's a bottomless pit I know I would fall into and then I'd be pooping in a five gallon bucket from Home Depot and I'd rarely emerge from my living room.”
Despite trying to stay away, there’s no escaping the extremely enthusiastic response to the series. The best he and his team can do is to acknowledge it humbly and try not to let it influence the direction of the show.
“We don't try to tailor anything,” says co-executive producer Alison Tatlock. “Our storytelling is not changed by what people are saying.”
“We prefer to keep our focus on the work,” Gilligan concludes.
The Central Mystery: Will the creator Know the Conclusion of Pluribus?
Given that Gilligan and his team aren't taking cues by audience theories, can we assume they have already decided how Pluribus will reach its endpoint? Essentially yes… sort of.
“We have some interesting ideas about where the show might end up,” Gilligan reveals. “however, we remain prepared to abandon a decent plan for a more brilliant plan. That philosophy has guided us in well 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.”
Then again, if all else fails, Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to use as a backup.
“My recurring proposal is that the entire story is inside a snow globe, and that we'll pull back at the end and that's where they've been all along,” he says humorously, “though the idea hasn't gained traction.”
Of course, why not reference the iconic TV endings?
“My dream is Carol to open her eyes beside Bob Newhart,” Gilligan says with a smile.
Pluribus is currently available on Apple TV.
