Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul Creator Vince Gilligan Says Sci-Fi Mystery Pluribus Is His Biggest Ever
Exclusive: Vince Gilligan reveals why Pluribus was impossible a decade ago—and why the tech, the industry, and the audience finally make it inevitable now.
Vince Gilligan is leaving Albuquerque in the rearview and swinging big with his new Apple TV series, Pluribus. If Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul were tight, character-driven pressure cookers, this one looks like a globe-sized playground.
What is Pluribus?
Gilligan calls it a mystery sci-fi series, and that fits the vibe. Rhea Seehorn (who absolutely stole scenes in Better Call Saul) leads as Carol Sturka, a woman described as 'the most miserable person on Earth' who 'must save the world from happiness.' That is both a real logline and a pretty great hook. Beyond that, they are keeping almost everything locked down. Seehorn did say her reaction when Gilligan first pitched it was simple: 'bananas.' Sounds about right.
Bigger canvas, bigger swing
The trailers sell a serious scale-up: international locations, massive sets, and just a general sense that the show has a taste for spectacle. Even Walter White and Saul Goodman at their wildest in Albuquerque didn’t go this big, and that seems intentional.
"I know, 10 years ago, I couldn't have made this show. Because this show is bigger than anything I've ever made before."
"The scope of it is globetrotting, world-spanning... I think we've learned - my producers and I, together - to be better producers over the years... The size of this thing is not something we would have attempted or could have succeeded at maybe five or 10 years ago."
That’s Gilligan, told to GamesRadar+, basically admitting he needed a decade of reps (and a bigger toolkit) to pull this off. A little behind-the-scenes shop talk, but it tracks with what the footage is showing: this is a flex.
Quick specifics
- Series: Pluribus (mystery sci-fi)
- Creator: Vince Gilligan
- Lead: Rhea Seehorn as Carol Sturka
- Premise tags: 'the most miserable person on Earth' who 'must save the world from happiness'
- Also stars: Karolina Wydra, Carlos Manuel Vesga
- Where to watch: Apple TV
- Premiere date: November 7
Bottom line: Gilligan and Seehorn are back together, but this time the sandbox is global and the tone looks wild in a very deliberate way. If the show matches the ambition on display, we might be looking at his biggest crowd-pleaser yet.