The 'Breaking Bad' Creator Discloses He Knows How His Sci-Fi Series Will End... Currently.
The acclaimed writer-producer could not have predicted that Pluribus would become a breakout success. “I am so grateful to the audience,” he remarks. “I did not foresee the show being as widely discussed as it is, and it makes me deliriously happy.”
As the debut season of the acclaimed sci-fi show wrapping up—and a second season officially in the works—the creative team opened up about the fan response and whether it will shape the future direction of Pluribus.
On the Overwhelming Audience Reaction
It would be easy to get distracted by the rampant praise and online debates about Pluribus. He is doing his best to avoid both.
“It's like being an endless supply of your favorite dessert and being in a state of bliss,” he says. “It's amazing, but I hear about it through word of mouth, 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 fall into and then I'd be living in squalor from the hardware store and I'd rarely emerge from my living room.”
In spite of his concerted efforts, there’s no way to avoid the immensely favorable 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 make no attempt to adjust our writing,” says writer and executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The narrative we craft is not impacted by audience chatter.”
“We prefer to keep our noses to the grindstone,” he chimes in.
A Pressing Query: Has Vince Gilligan Know the Ending of Pluribus?
Given that Gilligan and his team aren’t being guided by fan response, does that mean they already know how Pluribus will ultimately end? The answer is yes… in a way.
“We have some interesting ideas about the ultimate destination,” Gilligan says. “yet we stand ready to discard a decent plan for a more brilliant plan. That has held us in excellent shape on Better Call Saul and on Breaking Bad even before that. We throw stuff out when we find a more perfect path and I imagine we will be doing that.”
On the other hand, if all else fails, executive producer Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to fall back on.
“I constantly suggest that everything takes place within a snow globe, and that we'll zoom out in the finale and that's where they've been all along,” he says humorously, “but no one is buying it.”
Of course, why not reference the classics?
“My dream is Carol to awaken beside Bob Newhart,” he jokes.
Pluribus is streaming now on Apple TV.
