Did Pluribus S1E5 Unintentionally Recreate Tim Robinson’s 100% Rated Gem?

If you watched Pluribus Episode 5 and thought, wait, didn’t I just see this on HBO but with fewer milk cartons… you’re not imagining it. Got Milk lands like The Chair Company in a sci-fi trench coat: same obsessive spiral, different aisle of the grocery store.

The Chair Company: the comedy of not letting it go

Tim Robinson’s HBO comedy premiered October 12, 2025 and immediately lit up Rotten Tomatoes with a spotless 100% from 44 critics. The premise is gloriously small but nuclear: Ron Trosper (Robinson) has his office chair implode during a major presentation, and instead of shrugging it off, he goes deep on the manufacturer, Tecca. The show blends cringe comedy with thriller energy, and the discomfort is very much the point. It airs Sundays at 10 pm ET on HBO (also on Max) through November 30, and HBO already gave it a Season 2.

"Tim Robinson's volcanic comedic ethos finds an ideal outlet in 'The Chair Company.'"

Pluribus Episode 5: Carol vs. a city full of milk cartons

Pluribus launched November 7 on Apple TV+ with a 98% rating from 111 reviews. Then Episode 5, Got Milk, dropped November 26 and zeroed in on Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn) alone in Albuquerque, clocking something off about the trash: every recycling bin is overflowing with the same milk cartons. After the group known as the Others cuts ties with her, this trash issue becomes her whole life. Carol tracks the cartons to a local dairy that’s pumping out an amber liquid made from a mysterious white powder — so not milk — and her trail ends at a cold storage facility housing something so awful we only see her reaction, not the thing itself. Along the way she dumpster-dives, tests the liquid with hot tub pH strips, and talks herself into (and out of) theories in real time.

The overlap is wild (and kind of the point)

Both shows weaponize tiny humiliations and oddities — a broken chair, a pile of cartons — then scale them into world-shaking conspiracies. They’re about people who physically cannot let go. The difference: Robinson’s Ron is orbiting coworkers and family (with Lake Bell and Joseph Tudisco helping tether him to Earth), while Carol is fully cut loose after nearly killing someone in Episode 4, which lets her chase leads without anyone pulling her back.

• Networks: The Chair Company is on HBO/Max; Pluribus is on Apple TV+
• Key dates: Chair Company premiered Oct 12, 2025; Pluribus premiered Nov 7, 2025; Got Milk (Ep 5) arrived Nov 26, 2025
• Release cadence: Chair Company drops Sundays at 10 pm ET through Nov 30; Pluribus rolls out Fridays, with new episodes through Dec 26
• Tomatometer: Chair Company 100% (44 reviews); Pluribus 98% (111 reviews)
• Inciting incident: Catastrophic office chair collapse (Chair Company) vs. suspicious milk-carton overflow across Albuquerque (Pluribus Ep 5)
• Investigation target: Tecca, the chair maker (Chair Company) vs. a dairy producing amber liquid from a mystery white powder (Pluribus Ep 5)
• Vibe: Cringe comedy/thriller (Chair Company) vs. sci-fi/dark comedy (Pluribus)
• Creators: Tim Robinson & Zach Kanin (Chair Company) vs. Vince Gilligan (Pluribus)
• What they’re really about: turning everyday junk into proof of a larger scheme, and how a single fixation can eat a person alive

Is this a sly nod from Gilligan’s camp or a cosmic coincidence? Either way, the parallels are specific enough to raise an eyebrow.

Scheduling cheat sheet: Pluribus continues Fridays on Apple TV+ through December 26. The Chair Company wraps its eight-episode run on HBO/Max November 30 — and it’s already set to return for Season 2.