“Pluribus” is almost here, and it is already the strangest show of the year. This is Vince Gilligan’s first big project since “Better Call Saul,” and the vibe is way different. Apple TV+ dropped a teaser that doesn’t explain much, but it feels like something special.
53-year-old Rhea Seehorn stars, playing Carol, and she is the one person in a world full of smiling, happy people who isn’t happy at all.
That is the twist. The whole world is weirdly perfect, and only one woman thinks tha is a problem. It is funny, creepy, and totally original. If that sounds like your kind of show, you are not alone. Gilligan has built a career making chaos feel human, and now he is doing it again in a shiny, smiling sci-fi dystopia.
“Pluribus” Is Vince Gilligan Doing Sci-Fi His Way
Gilligan has always been good at messing with normal. “Breaking Bad” started with a guy cooking meth in his tighty-whities. “The X-Files” had aliens, but also cancer conspiracies, freaks of the week, and cigarette-smoking men. “Pluribus” looks like it fits right in.
Apple gave the show a two-season order before a single scene was shot. That tells you everything. The pitch must have been strong, the script even stronger. Apple TV+ already has big sci-fi like “Foundation,” “Silo,” and “For All Mankind,” but “Pluribus” adds one thing those don’t: Gilligan’s twisted sense of humor.
This is sci-fi that laughs while it creeps you out.
She knows something is wrong, and apparently, it is her job to fix it.
The teaser doesn’t give away much, but it raises big questions. Why is the President of the United States talking directly to her? Why does it feel like the world is under some sort of spell? And what happens when she starts breaking it?
Rhea Seehorn Finally Gets the Spotlight
If you watched “Better Call Saul,” you know Rhea Seehorn should have had an Emmy years ago. She was the heart and spine of that show. In “Pluribus,” she is front and center, and it looks like Gilligan is writing to her full range.
She plays someone stuck in a candy-coated nightmare. Everything looks perfect, but something is seriously off. And she is the only one who can see it. That takes serious acting chops. Thankfully, Seehorn has got them.
Plus, her chemistry with Gilligan is already proven. This could be the role that finally gets her the awards she deserves.
Gilligan’s shows always dance between moods. “Breaking Bad” was intense but still had laugh-out-loud moments. “Better Call Saul” did tragedy with charm. “Pluribus” seems to lean even harder into that balance.
Think “The Truman Show” meets “Black Mirror,” but with a brain and a wink. That mix of humor and horror might be what makes “Pluribus” the standout sci-fi show of the year.
The first two episodes of “Pluribus” dropped on November 7. We will get new episodes every Friday until December 26.
