In the first trailer for Pluribus, the sci-fi drama from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, Rhea Seehorn is surrounded by eerily happy and kind people as the world threatens to fall apart. The drama will debut on Apple TV with two episodes on November 7th.
Gilligan will reunite with the Emmy-nominated series for “Better Call Saul,” and Seehorn will star as Carol, a woman described as “the most miserable person on the planet” who must “save the world from happiness.”
The trailer doesn’t reveal much, except that most of humanity seems to be under some kind of magic, with the exception of Carol. While watching a montage of scientists wearing protective gear and working in labs, the US president told her, “Rest assured, Carol. We will understand what makes you different…so you can join us.”
“Pluribus” also stars Carolina Wydra (“Sneaky Pete”) and Carlos-Manuel Vesuga (“Donde to Quieras”), with guest appearances by Miriam Scholl (“American Fiction”) and Samba Schutte (“Our Flag Means Death”). The series has already been renewed for a second season on Apple TV.
The streamer first officially teased the series on July 25, with a cryptic video of a woman in scrubs licking a donut, then smiling and putting it back in a box that says “Help Yourself.” Three days later, another teaser video was released showing Seehorn walking toward a phone with the words “Call me” and “No pressure” next to an Apple-operated phone number. People who called the number and dialed “0” received a text message that read, “Carol, know that your life is yours. You have agency!”
“Pluribus” is produced by Sony Pictures Television, with Gilligan serving as executive producer along with Gordon Smith, Alison Tatlock, Diane Mercer, Alice Ozersky and Jeff Frost. Co-executive producers are Jen Carroll and Trina Ciopey. Aside from the short-lived 2015 drama Battle Creek, which Gilligan co-created with David Shore, Pluribus marks Gilligan’s first foray outside the Breaking Bad universe in 17 years.
Gilligan teased Pluribus in Variety in 2023, saying that unlike his past two projects, the series has “no crime, no meth.” “The world changes rapidly in the first episode, and then it’s completely different. This is the modern world, the world we live in, but it changes very suddenly,” he said. “And I hope the consequences of that bring drama to many subsequent episodes.”
Watch the trailer below.
