Vince Gilligan Takes Aim at a World Leader While Unveiling His Pluribus Virus Concept
At a Pluribus Q&A, Vince Gilligan turned promo into punchline, riffing on the show's hive-mind to explain why he'd skip joining the infected collective—and slipping in a surprise jab at a real-world target. Apple TV+'s new sci-fi just found its sharpest critic: its creator.
If you ever wondered what Vince Gilligan would do with a feel-good apocalypse, welcome to Pluribus. It is glossy Apple TV+ sci-fi with a wicked premise and, apparently, punchlines. During a recent Q&A for the show, Gilligan dropped a joke that manages to be funny, gross, and a pretty tidy thesis statement for the series.
The joke that kind of explains everything
Gilligan was asked whether he would join the show's hive mind. He referenced a character named Mr. Diabate, a guy who is immune and unapologetically using that perk to live his best life. Gilligan said he'd want to be as chill as that... until a certain geopolitical thought occurred to him.
"You'd want to be Mr. Diabate, but then you're with all the lovely ladies, and then you're thinking 'Vladimir Putin's in there somewhere!' You get that in your head and it's not living the dream anymore."
Crass? A little. Effective? Totally. It gets at why Pluribus is not The Walking Dead or The Last of Us. The infection here doesn't turn you into a monster; it invites you into a collective where everyone shares thoughts and feelings, and the world gets eerily... fixed.
So what is Pluribus actually about?
Gilligan's new post-apocalyptic sci-fi series centers on Carol (Rhea Seehorn), an author who is one of the very few people immune to a viral event that links everyone else into a single telepathic hive mind. As of the first three episodes, the entire planet is connected except for 13 people. No war. No crime. No prejudice. No suffering. Perfect communication and emotional unity. It is a utopia by brute force.
The official logline boils down to this: the most miserable person on Earth has to save the world from happiness. Carol is supposed to stop the virus, even though the "victims" look suspiciously like contented, kinder humans who do not want saving.
Team Carol vs. Team Zosia (and why your pick might keep changing)
Gilligan leans into the moral wobble. Carol stands for individuality and free will. On the other side, Zosia (Karolina Wydra), a face of the collective, is calm, connected, and emotionally healed. Gilligan has said the point is for your allegiance to ping-pong as the show goes on. With The Walking Dead or The Last of Us, the choice is easy: you definitely do not want to be infected. Pluribus dares you to think, "Maybe this wouldn't be so bad," and then immediately makes you question that.
Quick hit details
- Where to watch: Pluribus is on Apple TV+. The first three episodes are out now, with new ones dropping every Friday through December 26.
- Renewal: Already picked up for Season 2.
- The twist: The virus creates a telepathic hive mind that ends war, crime, and prejudice, trading personal autonomy for collective peace.
- Cast: Rhea Seehorn stars as Carol, alongside Karolina Wydra and Carlos Manuel Vesga, with guest turns from Miriam Shor and Samba Schutte.
- That Mr. Diabate mention: He is an immune character in the show who is, let’s say, enjoying the perks of being outside the network.
Final thought
Pluribus is a philosophical trap disguised as a sci-fi thriller. It keeps asking a simple, uncomfortable question: If the price of a nicer world is your individuality, do you pay it? And if the answer is "no," how sure are you when the alternative looks this good?