The Business Vince Gilligan wants the audience to decide what ‘Pluribus’ is about
Dec 19, 2025
Vince Gilligan, the mastermind behind Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, discusses his new series Pluribus with journalist Eric Deggans. Gilligan reveals how a bidding war shaped his project’s home at Apple TV and reflects on the lessons learned from his past hits. He dives into the unique premise of a protagonist who gets everything yet feels unfulfilled and explains how his experiences on The X-Files influenced his shift to serialized storytelling. Gilligan emphasizes his newfound approach of letting audiences derive their own meanings from his work.
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Let Audiences Decide Meaning
- Vince Gilligan advises creators to resist defining their show's meaning for audiences.
- He suggests letting viewers interpret the work because creators can lose perspective being too close to it.
Core Idea: Wish Fulfillment Breeds Conflict
- Pluribus began as an idea about someone who inexplicably becomes universally loved and obeyed.
- Gilligan realized drama arises from obstacles, so he framed that wish-fulfillment concept to generate conflict.
Sci‑Fi As A Narrative Tool
- The show's sci-fi premise functions as a means to explore social phenomena like AI, grief, social media, and celebrity.
- Gilligan welcomes multiple interpretations and sees genre as a tool to reach thematic goals quickly.