No show has rocketed up our charts in the last few weeks quite like Pluribus, a fresh, worrying, and relentlessly gripping sci-fi series from the people who brought us Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad.
Read on to discover more about the show, what it means, and what inspired it, and use the guide below to find out where to stream some similar stuff on services like AppleTV, Netflix, Prime Video and elsewhere.
What Does ‘Pluribus’ Mean? (And What Is The TV Show About?)
Let’s start with the basics. Pluribus is the latest show from Vince Gilligan, the celebrated writer and TV auteur behind Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. The show stars Rhea Seehorn (who played Kim Wexler across all six seasons of Saul) as Carol Sturka, a successful but disaffected ‘romantasy’ author who survives (for want of a better word) a world-altering event.
In terms of plot, it’s important to tread lightly: Pluribus is the kind of show that’s best enjoyed with as little prior information as possible. We can say that it’s solidly in the realms of science fiction, the kind that takes place on a version of Earth you recognise, but by the end of the first episode, with the help of some wonderful set pieces and production design, becomes a version of Earth you will not.
The official tag line—“The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness”—does a great job of expressing the vibe without giving anything away.
The word “pluribus” comes from the Latin, meaning “of many” or “from many.” For people from Gilligan’s part of the world (i.e. the United States), it presumably rings more of a bell: “E pluribus unum”, meaning “out of many, one”, is considered to be the country’s unofficial motto.
If the episodes that have been released so far are anything to go by, that suggestion of political subtext is not accidental. This is a show that raises questions about the age-old conflict between individualism and collectivism, and how each of those belief systems tend to, at best, distrust the other and, at worse, demonise it—especially in the U.S and not least in our present moment.
‘Pluribus’ Was Secretly Inspired By This Sci-Fi Classic
Sci-fi writers and filmmakers have been drawn to this conflict for decades, especially during the Cold War years, with the Red Scare and the communist witch-hunts. One movie that tapped into those anxieties at the time was 1956’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which Gilligan (who made his name as a writer and producer on the sci-fi conspiracy series The X-Files) has already mentioned as a key influence for Pluribus.
In that movie, humans were replaced by alien pods that attempted to replicate human emotion. It’s too early to say, but the hive mind in Pluribus feels more benevolent, so we’ll have to wait and see if Carol’s distrust is unwarranted or if the show is really about something else—like the rise of AI.
Should You Watch ‘Pluribus’?
100%. Not only is Gilligan a genius when it comes to stringing an audience along, but I’ve honestly not been this impressed by a show’s looks and design since Shōgun. Additionally, even though some of the themes are not of this world, the sense of place in Gilligan’s native Albuquerque is as evident as it was in Breaking Bad, which makes the creeping sci-fi stuff all the more uncanny.
That all adds up to a refreshingly unique experience, especially for fans of ideasy sci-fi like The Leftovers or Black Mirror. If I’m not mistaken, the show also has plenty of things to say and, best of all, I’ve absolutely no idea where it will land.
