Vince Gilligan makes ambitious television by staying close to awkward people and taking their choices seriously. We rate his patience and his suspicion of easy answers, though Pluribus sometimes gives us longer to think than we need.
Fi1m perspective
The people trying to make Carol Sturka happy in Pluribus (2025) cannot see why she might object. A virus has joined humanity into a peaceful shared mind; Carol, a miserable novelist, is immune. Gilligan makes their eagerness to help her feel intrusive without making her discontent seem admirable in itself. We felt hemmed in by their offers of happiness, because even Carol’s discontent becomes something for other people to put right. It is science fiction we recommend for the attention it pays to a difficult person, with a reservation about how slowly it moves.
Gilligan’s television work has moved between science fiction and crime. He wrote for The X-Files from 1995 to 2002 before creating Breaking Bad (2008–2013), built around radical character change. He co-created Better Call Saul (2015–2022) with Peter Gould and directed the sequel film El Camino (2019). Pluribus brings him back to science fiction, with a different question about change. Carol has good reason to resist what others want for her, and Gilligan gives that resistance the sustained attention he has elsewhere given transformation.
In Pluribus, Gilligan and fellow writer Gordon Smith take Carol’s objections seriously while leaving her judgement open to question. Rhea Seehorn makes her a stubborn, recognisable person, which keeps the series from becoming merely a discussion about happiness and conformity. Gilligan’s control of the tone matters here: too much menace would make the collective simple to dismiss. Its eagerness to please has to remain plausible for the discomfort to work. He lets us understand the offer without expecting us to welcome it.
The slow pace is the cost, and sometimes it is too high. Pluribus gives us time to consider Carol’s position, then asks for more when the pleasure of thinking it through has begun to fade. Once we understand why Carol distrusts the collective, further time spent considering its offer needs to tell us more about her or the people making it. We would rather see Gilligan trust the drama between these people and move on a little sooner. Try Pluribus if the prospect of compulsory happiness troubles you, but do not feel obliged to admire every minute it takes.
Biography
Vince Gilligan, also credited as George Vincent Gilligan Jr., is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He was born on 10 February 1967 in Richmond, Virginia.
Gilligan created, wrote and occasionally directed the AMC series Breaking Bad (2008–2013) and its spin-off Better Call Saul (2015–2022). He also wrote and directed the sequel film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019). Earlier credits include writing and directing episodes of The X-Files (1993–2002) and co-creating its spin-off The Lone Gunmen (2001). He co-wrote the screenplay for Hancock (2008) and wrote the screenplay for Home Fries (1998).
In 2025 he created, wrote and directed the Apple TV+ series Pluribus, reuniting with actress Rhea Seehorn.
