Breaking bleak.
“Breaking Bad” creator Vince Gilligan’s new show “Pluribus” is off-the-wall, unique, and sure to be an instant Emmys contender – if you can handle how depressing it is.
Now streaming on AppleTV+ (with new episodes out Fridays), it stars “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” alum Rhea Seehorn. It may appeal to viewers who enjoy shows like “The Last of Us” and “Severance,” with a dash of “The Walking Dead” and “The Good Place” sprinkled in.
It’s got an eye-popping 100% on Rotten Tomatoes – in contrast to TV’s current worst show, the dreadful “All’s Fair,” which has a paltry 4%.
The plot follows Carol (Seehorn) a cynical romance author. After a mysterious global event turns the population into a hive-mind of cheerful zombies, she’s one of the only people in the world who is immune. They’re not real zombies – nobody is undead or eats brains – but everyone loses their individuality. Everyone Carol meets refers to themselves as “we,” and has the same startlingly upbeat shared personality and shared consciousness.
“’Pluribus’ is my twist on a post-apocalyptic zombie tale,” Gilligan told Men’s Health. “The big difference is these people are not zombies. They’re really, really happy people who still have all their faculties.”
Carol is one of only about a dozen people who is still herself. She’s filled with confused rage and grief, especially because her longtime partner, Helen (Miriam Shor), dies during this zombie-esque takeover event.
To make matters worse, when she meets the handful of other people who are also immune, she finds that she’s the only one who has any urgency to restore the world to how it used to be.
“I am not convinced things are as bad as you say,” one fellow immune man tells her, pointing out that issues like racism and crime no longer exist. There’s peace on earth…and Carol is having a terrible time.
There’s no doubt that “Pluribus” is unique. The TV landscape is packed with endless spinoffs and reboots, so that alone is worth championing. Plus, amid shows that assume the audience is stupid (like “All’s Fair”), “Pluribus” is unashamedly philosophical.
However, it also may be the most depressing show of the year. “Pluribus” is a great show that also sort of makes you want to jump off a bridge.
At least in most other dystopian shows, the characters go through harrowing situations, but they have some people to share it with.
Carol’s angry snark is frequently an amusing contrast with the saccharine friendliness of everyone around her. So, on the surface, the tone of “Pluribus” is lighter than a show like “The Last of Us.”
But, as a constant hum beneath the wacky story, there’s little relief from how horrifying the situation is. Carol is basically all alone in the world. The awful isolation of her circumstance makes “Pluribus” dark, and gives it a claustrophobic feeling, despite its zaniness.
The show almost feels like that classic “Twilight Zone” episode “Time Enough At Last,” but that’s only 25 minutes. Stretched into nine hours, such a concept becomes gutting.
“Pluribus” has gotten some comparisons to its Apple sibling, “Severance,” which also sees its main character grieving his wife, and trapped in a nightmarish existence. But, the latter has other characters to add levity, and to give the audience moments of relief so that we’re not only following the grieving and angry Mark (Adam Scott).
“Pluribus” is only Carol.
Seehorn’s performance is stellar, but it’s essentially a one-woman show, as she’s surrounded by happy robots (figuratively, as it’s explained that they’re not robots).
It’s hard to imagine how to spin several seasons out of this. Then again, it’s silly to doubt Gilligan. If anyone can run with a premise that appears limited in scope, it’s the “Breaking Bad” creator.
I wouldn’t recommend tuning into “Pluribus” if you’re in need of a mood boost.
But if you want something different, imaginative, and thought-provoking, it offers a feast.
