When it comes to the current landscape of “prestige TV,” Apple TV+ has quietly been building a fortress of high-concept hits, but Pluribus (stylized as PLUR1BUS) is the first one that feels like it’s actually reaching for the soul of the viewer. It’s not just “good for a streaming show”—it is genuinely one of the most provocative pieces of art Apple has ever greenlit.
Created by Vince Gilligan, the mastermind behind Breaking Bad, Pluribus swaps the high-stakes meth labs of Albuquerque for something far more unsettling: total, global peace. Speaking of Breaking Bad, this series takes me back as well to my favorite series, “Better Call Saul.” Anyway, the premise is a brilliant “be careful what you wish for” scenario. An alien virus transforms humanity into a blissful, unified hive mind. No more war, no more hunger, no more loneliness.
But then there’s Carol, played by the incomparable Rhea Seehorn. Carol is one of the few “immunes,” and she is—to put it bluntly—miserable. Watching her navigate a world where everyone else is smiling and finishing each other’s sentences is deeply uncomfortable. The show asks a haunting question: If the price of utopia is the loss of your “self,” is it worth paying?
While Severance nailed the corporate dystopia and Ted Lasso gave us the heart, Pluribus finds a middle ground that is entirely its own. It has that signature Gilligan tension—where a simple conversation feels like a ticking time bomb—but it’s wrapped in a gorgeous Southwestern aesthetic that makes the “end of the world” look remarkably serene. For Rhea Seahorn, if she doesn’t sweep the awards for this, there’s no justice. She manages to make a “misanthrope” someone you desperately want to root for. Her grief for her wife, Helen, is the emotional anchor that keeps the sci-fi elements grounded. She actually reminds me of Claire Danes. Very award-winning.
There is nothing scarier than a hive mind that genuinely wants to “help” you. That’s the horror of kindness this series is serving! The way the “Others” look at Carol with pity because she’s still burdened by individual thought is more chilling than any jump-scare. It doesn’t rush. It lets you sit in the silence of an empty city or the eerie calm of a crowded park where no one is arguing.
Pluribus is a rare breed of television. It doesn’t treat the audience like they have a short attention span; it assumes you’re there to think, to feel, and to be challenged. It’s easily the most ambitious project on Apple TV+ right now and cements the platform as the go-to for stories that aren’t afraid to be weird.
If you haven’t started it yet, do yourself a favor and dive in. Just don’t expect to look at a “friendly” crowd the same way again.
0 Comments