Vince Gilligan didn’t waste time lining up his next series, and, as typical of the showrunner, it did not disappoint. The Breaking Bad creator reached outside the world of meth cooking, instead delivering a series in the world of sci-fi. Streaming on Apple TV+, Gilligan’s new series, Pluribus, presents a world too good to be true. After decoding a signal from an alien race, humanity discovers a way to synthesize it, which turns the entire world into a hivemind. Scientists make this virus airborne, and it affects everyone but 12 people in the entire world.
One of these anomalies is Carol (Rhea Seehorn), a best-selling novelist of fantasy romances. On one terrifying night, she witnesses everyone in Albuquerque having a startling transformation where all their consciousnesses are combined. This process hints at the extra-terrestrials and what the mysterious title really means.
‘Pluribus’ Is All About the We
In the first few Pluribus episodes, the series remains largely mysterious. While the hivemind that has taken over the entire world is fairly upfront about how they came to be, their cheeriness and lack of individuality are terrifying to Carol. There is undoubtedly some greater threat at work connecting to this occurrence, but that may be kept under wraps for some time.
Mysterious concepts like these harken back to the days of Lost, where everything was a puzzle. Pluribus’s first puzzle is the meaning behind the title. The answer is derived from its Latin origins, which means “of many.” One of the most notable examples of this was the motto of the United States, which read “E pluribus unum,” which was translated as “out of many, one.” This signified the union of the original 13 colonies, which is a little familiar to fans of Vince Gilligan’s new series. The showrunner didn’t use the commonplace phrase exactly, but that could just mean that not everyone is unified.
Out of the many that joined the hivemind on Earth, Carol is an outlier. Though there are allegedly others like her, she is likely the only one in Albuquerque who has not assimilated. On its own, Pluribus just means “of many,” and that definition aptly describes Gilligan’s sci-fi series. There are many people in the world, though not all of them are united. Knowing the showrunner’s writing, however, there is sure to be more to the series than just the literal translation.
Pluribus may not refer to the hivemind at all, but is directed at Carol, who is the sole emotional drive behind the series. “Of many” could also describe the few who, for some reason, were immune to this indoctrination. Though they are not as many as the rest of the world, they could also be united against this scourge. As with all series that Gilligan has created, it is certainly too early to tell.
A writer as accomplished as the Breaking Bad scribe most likely has something even stranger in store for the future of the series. No one can really guess what he has in mind. All anyone can do is sit back and enjoy the ride. Pluribus is currently streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes airing every Friday.
- Release Date
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November 6, 2025
- Network
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Apple TV
- Directors
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Adam Bernstein, Zetna Fuentes, Melissa Bernstein
- Writers
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Ariel Levine