Pluribus
With Breaking Bad and its spinoff, Better Call Saul, Vince Gilligan gave us a darkly comic take on the underbelly of narcotics production. But with Pluribus, he returns to his sci-fi roots (he was a prominent writer and director on The X-Files) with this fantastically high-concept series.
The show sees the world infected by an alien virus, dubbed “The Joining” since it’s spread through kissing and sharing bodily fluids. It has created a hive mind among the earth’s population, whereby civilians act and speak in synchronicity. Rhea Seehorn plays Carol, a popular romance author with a horde of eccentric fans (a fandom that appears to be a hive mind in and of itself) whom she despises. Despite her lightheaded prose, she is deeply jaded and strives for greater acclaim. She knows all too well that her works are, in her own words, “mindless c***”, and yet she soldiers through book readings and meet-and-greets with a gritted smile.
As the virus spreads, Carol finds herself unaffected, and as it turns out, she is just one of a dozen people in the world with immunity. The apocalyptic scenario is presented to her as a positive, since everyone has been absorbed into a perpetual state of contentment. For Carol, however, the prospect of being trapped in a world devoid of individual autonomy is hellish.
Part Twilight Zone episode, part 1970s dystopian sci-fi, it’s a juicy concept ripe with intrigue and the potential for armchair philosophical musings. Breaking Bad received some criticism for its portrayal of women, particularly Skylar, so it’s refreshing to see a strong female lead. Seehorn excels in a difficult role that requires heightened anxiety and emotional distress. Likewise, Karolina Wydra shines as Zosia, Carol’s guide, whose infected state may not be all that it appears.
In an age of ubiquitous social media hive mind, the themes of the series ring close to home (or close to our devices). A survivalist concept set against a seemingly utopian backdrop is a unique one, as expected from Gilligan, and it presents the audience with a pertinent thought experiment: Is uniformity the only solution to social conflict?
Much like his previous output, Gilligan has created a series that has all the hallmarks of a cult classic. With a fantastic lead and a tense narrative that will leave viewers wanting more, Pluribus is a worthy addition to the dystopian sci-fi cannon.
Antonia Georgiou
Pluribus is released on Apple TV+ on 7th November 2025.
Watch the trailer for Pluribus here:
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