Info in Movie News | Vince Gilligan, the genius behind Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, comes back with a new Apple TV+ original called Pluribus. His new project is a departure from his previous intense and morally complicated stories and has a lighter yet more psychological tone. Pluribus is a mixture of drama, light sci-fi, and social satire and takes place in a world where happiness is contagious. Rhea Seehorn, Gilligan's working relationship after her grand performance of Kim Wexler, is the leading lady in the series. In this movie, Seehorn is Carol Sturka, a writer of romantic novels who, by her appearance, seems to be living a life of success, but is actually living a life of cynicism and emotional detachment. Her world turns upside down when everyone around her becomes mysteriously happy, except her.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gilligan created Carol as a response to his long career of writing morally grey antiheroes. After years of exploring corruption and moral decay, he wanted to write a “true hero” again. Carol becomes that symbol, a deeply flawed yet grounded character navigating a world that’s losing its complexity to blind joy. In Pluribus, happiness isn’t a choice but a contagious state of mind. The idea itself feels very Gilligan-esque: what if something universally positive becomes terrifying when forced upon everyone?
The trailer opens with Carol receiving a strange phone call. A calm voice tells her, “Rest assured, Carol. We will figure out what makes you different… so you can join us.” Her only response is a blunt, “What the fuck.” One single line is the main feature tone of Pluribus, which could be described as a mix of surreal, dry wit and an uneasy feeling. Although it was a made-for-TV series in Albuquerque, New Mexico (Gus Fring's place), Gilligan didn't want people to mistake Pluribus as a spin-off from the same world. He said it is a totally different world with no meth kingpins or cartel conspiracies, only an eerie dive into the question of humanity when happiness is dictated.
Rhea Seehorn shines at the center of this new world. Gilligan even admitted that he wrote the role specifically for her, saying he wanted to “see Rhea as the star she deserves to be.” The supporting cast includes Karolina Wydra and Carlos Manuel Vesga, both contributing to the mysterious yet emotionally grounded atmosphere. With its mix of science fiction, emotional realism, and philosophical undertones, Pluribus promises something truly fresh for Apple TV+.
As described by Nerdist, the show’s premise is simple yet deeply ironic: “The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.” This is a concept that essentially reverses the traditional narrative approach. Rather than seeking happiness, Carol has to save her grief in order to stop people from losing the things that make them human, namely fear, pain, and imperfection. This notion prompts interrogatives regarding the fixation of society on positivity, thus transforming Pluribus into a genre not only of a sci-fi mystery but also of a talk about the emotional realness in an excessively idealistic world.
Apple TV+ has shown massive confidence in Gilligan’s vision by ordering two full seasons upfront. The initial season is planned to have nine episodes, kicking off with a double-episode debut on November 7, 2025, and followed up with weekly releases through December. The production of the series is under Gilligan’s High Bridge Productions, and it is a welcome return of the Gilligan team members from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. This assures that the trademark Gilligan style and vibe are preserved.
Pluribus is a departure of Gilligan’s storytelling approach. While he previously told the stories of moral corruption, now he tells the stories of emotional survival. This is a brilliant transition that implies even after he changed the whole television industry with Breaking Bad he is still not afraid to take risks. In a way, it is the same human introspection show but instead of a meth lab and moral downfall, we get a scary question: is happiness still real if you have to force it?
On the outside, Pluribus seems to be just another Gilligan's work, and it even has the same visual style, expansive desert shots, sharp lighting, and quiet, somewhat eerie moments, which are almost void of dialogue, but full of feeling. However, under its sci-fi elements, it is a very intimate and autobiographical narrative of the main character's alienation, yearning for a place to fit in, and the definition of being different. Carol Sturka might not be the sort of character one roots for like Walter White, but she is dealing with just as hazardous a situation, a world where melancholy has been done away with.
While Breaking Bad was essentially about corruption and transformation, Pluribus could be described as being about resistance and awakening. It asserts itself as a medium through which spectators raise the question of whether happiness is really the ultimate goal or just another way of being controlled. 2025, Apple TV+ original, Pluribus, stars Rhea Seehorn to great effect and Vince Gilligan is the man behind the scenes once again. The show is quite unique in its way of engaging its viewers' minds.
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