--- title: "Pluribus: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/pluribus/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/tv/pluribus" critics_score: 83 critics_reviews: 14 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Pluribus (2025): what the critics said Critics' score 83 from 14 reviews: 13 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Pluribus, with praise clustering around Rhea Seehorn’s performance as Carol, the unhappy outsider resisting a blissful collective consciousness. The reviews repeatedly credit her handling of humour, anger and sadness with making the philosophical premise emotionally convincing. Gilligan’s writing and direction also draw praise for finding satire and unease in questions about individuality, free will and collective happiness. The main reservation is pace: some critics find the slow unfolding rewarding, while others note stretches where the story struggles to move forward. Vulture explicitly values that deliberateness as a counter to hyperstimulated modern life; The Telegraph, the sole mixed review, admires Seehorn but finds too little momentum in the early episodes. The spread runs from qualified approval to considerable enthusiasm, though most assessments cluster firmly on the positive side. Even the principal dissent shares the wider admiration for the lead performance. ## Radio Times — David Opie Rating 5/5. 7 November 2025. Gilligan imagines a world without bad guys after a virus melds humanity into a peaceful collective mind, creating a different kind of horror for the lone immune cynic. The critic praises Seehorn's magnificent performance as Carol and calls the premiere a perfect hour of television. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/pluribus-season-1-review-vince-gilligan-comment/) ## The Times Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2025. The critic celebrates Vince Gilligan's return with a thought-provoking sci-fi series centered on a miserable author resisting a hive-mind virus. They single out Rhea Seehorn's exceptional lead performance and the show's blend of black humor, questions about individuality, and addictive world-building. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/pluribus-review-vince-gilligan-breaking-bad-wdchlnwb9) ## Variety — Alison Herman Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 2025. Gilligan's ambitious sci-fi drama returns to the genre with a deliberate pace and philosophical bent centered on a collective consciousness. The critic singles out Seehorn's magnetic, versatile performance as the misanthropic immune Carol for making the concept work. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2025/tv/reviews/pluribus-review-vince-gilligan-rhea-seehorn-1236572049/) ## Vulture — Nicholas Quah Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 2025. The critic praises the deliberate slow pace of the series as an argument against hyperstimulated modern life and highlights Rhea Seehorn's remarkable performance as the key element that makes the show work. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/pluribus-apple-tv-series-review-vince-gilligan-rhea-seehorn.html) ## IndieWire — Ben Travers Rating B+. 6 November 2025. The series bucks convention with its premise and structure, delivering a potent season of big ideas and strong performances from Rhea Seehorn that reward attention despite some fitful pacing. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/pluribus-review-vince-gilligan-series-1235159034) ## Empire — Dan Jolin Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2025. Gilligan delivers a fresh, satirical spin on the apocalypse via an alien virus creating a blissful collective hive mind that most embrace as utopia. The critic singles out Rhea Seehorn's deeply resonant, powerhouse performance as the cynical immune survivor Carol for praise. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/pluribus/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Daniel Fienberg Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 November 2025. Gilligan crafts an evasive, multi-genre original that functions as a versatile star vehicle for Seehorn as a weary romance novelist navigating a changed world. The critic highlights Seehorn's funny, sad, broad-yet-raw performance and Gilligan's strong direction. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/pluribus-review-rhea-seehorn-vince-gilligan-apple-tv-1236420414/) ## The Guardian — Stuart Heritage Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2025. The critic praises the show's bold premise of a global alien virus that unites minds into blissful conformity, leaving only one misanthrope immune. They single out the audacious thematic question about individuality versus collective happiness, while noting the slow pace and Rhea Seehorn's central performance. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/nov/07/pluribus-review-breaking-bad-creators-tv-show-apple-tv) ## The Telegraph — Benji Wilson Rating 3/5. 7 November 2025. The review finds the sci-fi drama a very slow burn after an intriguing setup of an alien virus creating perpetual happiness. It highlights Rhea Seehorn's standout performance as the immune misanthrope but criticizes the languid pacing and lack of momentum in the early episodes. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/pluribus-apple-tv-review/) ## Collider — Carly Lane Rating 10/10. 7 November 2025. Vince Gilligan's return to sci-fi is an absolute masterpiece that is unnnerving, hilarious, heartbreaking, and unexpected. It succeeds as a show unlike any other, thanks to strong writing including contributions from Gordon Smith and assured direction. [Read the review](https://collider.com/pluribus-review-apple-tv-vince-gilligan-rhea-seehorn/) ## Paste — Lacy Baugher Milas Rating 9.3/10. 7 November 2025. Pluribus is weird and wonderful, an ambitious and original series that balances philosophical questions with humor, dread, and surprise. Rhea Seehorn's revelatory performance holds the emotional core together in this strange and satisfying sci-fi. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/apple-tv/pluribus-review) ## Den of Geek — Lacy Baugher Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2025. The critic calls Pluribus one of the best shows of the year, praising its originality, philosophical depth, and Rhea Seehorn's standout performance balancing rage, despair, and humor. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/apple-tv-pluribus-needs-your-weekend-must-watch/) ## /Film — Chris Evangelista Rating 8/10. 7 November 2025. The series is a peculiar sci-fi show that feels wholly unique, with Rhea Seehorn delivering a superb central performance that carries the emotional weight. The story engages through surprising set pieces and a distinctive take on familiar themes. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/2018254/pluribus-review/) ## The Ringer — Miles Surrey Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2025. The critic sees Pluribus as capturing the surreality of living through the COVID era via its tale of a cranky novelist immune to a virus that turns humanity into a blissed-out hive mind desperate to make her happy. It singles out the show's exploration of isolation, free will, and the blurred line between contentment and oppression for praise. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2025/11/07/pluribus/pluribus-review-vince-gilligan-eddington-ari-aster-covid-pandemic) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/tv/pluribus.md