The Showrunner Shares He Knows How Pluribus Will End... At the Moment.
The creative mastermind never anticipated that Pluribus would become a breakout success. “I am so grateful to the audience,” he states. “It was unexpected the show being as widely discussed as it is, and it makes me deliriously happy.”
As the debut season of the acclaimed series wrapping up—and Season 2 greenlit and underway—the writers' room reflected on the fan response and whether it will shape the storyline of Pluribus.
About the Overwhelming Audience Reaction
It would be easy to get swayed by the constant speculation and fan theories about Pluribus. Gilligan, however, is doing his best to steer clear of all that.
“It feels like constantly eating your favorite dessert and being laughing uncontrollably,” he describes. “It's the greatest thing, but I learn of it through word of mouth, and that's by design. Not once have I Googled myself, nor do I ever want 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 Home Depot and I'd rarely emerge from my living room.”
Despite trying to stay away, there’s no escaping the overwhelmingly positive response to the series. The most practical strategy is to acknowledge it humbly and try not to let it influence the direction of the show.
“We make no attempt to change the plot,” says co-executive producer Alison Tatlock. “The plot we develop is not impacted by what people are saying.”
“We prefer to keep our focus on the work,” he chimes in.
The Big Question: Will the showrunner Have a Plan for the Ending of Pluribus?
So if the writers are not listening by fan response, does that mean they already know how Pluribus will reach its endpoint? Essentially yes… in a way.
“There are some compelling concepts about where the show might end up,” Gilligan says. “yet we stand ready to abandon a decent plan 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 find a more perfect path and I imagine we will be doing that.”
Alternatively, if plans fall through, Gordon Smith has a pretty funny idea to serve as a last resort.
“I keep pitching that it's all in a snow globe, and that we'll zoom out in the finale and the characters are inside it,” Smith quips, “but no one is buying it.”
Alternatively, why not reference the legendary finales?
“I'd love for Carol to awaken beside Bob Newhart,” Gilligan adds, smiling.
Pluribus is streaming now on the streaming service.
