Apple TV+’s Pluribus is the most fascinating show on television at the moment.
There was a brief period when I flirted with canceling my subscription to “yet another streaming service,” but Slow Horses, Friends & Neighbors, and now Pluribus have me (and my credit card) locked in for the foreseeable future.
Pluribus curious but want to know what the fuss is about? Keep reading and join on in.
Pluribus was created by Vince Gilligan
This alone should be reason enough. If you’re not familiar with him, Vince Gilligan is the creator of two of the very best TV series of all time (Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) and with Pluribus, he’s returning to his sci fi roots, honed while writing for The X-Files.
In short, Vince Gilligan is in that most elite tier of TV showrunners where I implicitly trust that anything he produces is going to be extremely good and interesting at a bare minimum.
Rhea Seahorn is the star
On Better Call Saul, a series packed with stellar acting (and also plenty of cartel-related violence and action), Rhea Seahorn as attorney Kim Wexler often was the show’s low key secret weapon.
And on Pluribus, Seahorn captivates us even during long stretches where there’s little or no dialogue happening. Her combination of strength, resilience, and vulnerability are at core what makes most of Pluribus’ first season interesting.
It’s unlike anything else on television
Like, seriously. For real.
Seahorn plays Carol Sturka, an acerbic fantasy/romance novelist who is placed in the unenviable position of being one of fewer than a dozen people left on Earth not affected by the “Joining,” an alien virus that swiftly infected all of humanity.
But that’s only where the “unlike anything else” part starts. The “joined” are happy, blissful even, and think and speak as one collective and fully evolved voice. They also profess to never wanting to hurt anything – down even to plant life – and to not being able to lie.
Meanwhile, Gilligan’s signature patient and meticulous storytelling comes into play, as does the dazzling cinematography and direction that helped to make Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul more exciting visually than most movies you’ll ever see.
Most of all though, Pluribus works on that primal level that we as TV watchers crave, where we are simply captivated to find out what happens next.
Become one with the Pluribus bus now and instantly become cool amongst your group of friends
Okay, maybe this one is slightly reaching and aspirational, but this is an excuse to let you know that there are just two new episodes left in Pluribus Season 1. They’re being released one at a time on Apple TV+, with the season finale scheduled to be available on Friday, December 26th.