It’s not every day a new television series boasts a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but the new Apple TV sci-fi drama “Pluribus” is earning raves from critics and fans alike.
The series, whose first two episodes premiered on Nov. 7, tells the story of Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), a grumpy romance-fantasy author who finds herself among the dozen or so people tasked with saving the world after an alien virus puts everyone else into a happy hive mind.
“Pluribus” was created by Vince Gilligan, the mastermind behind “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.” His new series grapples with questions about humanity, technology and contentment: If the creepy hive mind — like Aldous Huxley’s fictional soma drug in the classic dystopian novel “Brave New World” — makes everyone happier, maybe it’s OK?
Seehorn, a familiar face to Gilligan fans thanks to her breakout role as Kim Wexler in “Better Call Saul,” brings her comic sensibilities to Carol, whose misanthropic nature makes her an odd candidate to save humanity.
Gilligan sets the series in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico, the same setting as “Better Call Saul” and “Breaking Bad.” Those fascinated by UFO folklore also know the general area as the home of the 1947 Roswell Incident.
Read on to hear what critics and viewers have said so far about “Pluribus.”
What have critics said about ‘Pluribus’?
Since it debuted on Nov. 7, critics have raved about “Pluribus” with many celebrating the continued collaboration between Gilligan and Seehorn.
The show currently has a critic’s rating of 100%.
Linda Holmes of NPR called the show a “brutal watch” at times, noting how “Carol finds herself deep in grief, walking through empty buildings, driving deserted neighborhoods, experiencing the arid desolation of a frictionless life.
“But the collaboration between Gilligan and Seehorn,” Holmes continues, “also is built on how funny she is, how perfectly suited to both his willingness to plumb deep wells of sadness and the playfulness.”
Joel Keller of Decider agreed the show’s heaviness is offset by its playful tone, writing, “‘Pluribus’ is creepy and tension-filled and funny and dramatic and really weird.”
While several critics noted the pacing of “Pluribus” can be slow at times, most, like Los Angeles Times critic Robert Lloyd, promised the show ultimately delivers.
“After quickly establishing the premise, Gilligan shifts into low gear; this is a slow series, yet never a boring one,” writes Lloyd, adding, “Great tracts of time pass without dialogue. For most of the way it’s Seehorn’s show, and she’s marvelous — running through a range of emotions, confused, clever, resigned and determined by turns, as she navigates (as they say in the comics) a world she never made, an angry person beating against a sea of contentment, a complicated person in a one-speed society.”
Nicholas Quah of Vulture also urged viewers to stick with the series, writing, “You owe it to yourself to give ‘Pluribus’ a chance. Something glorious is gestating inside this entrancing piece of television, and to experience its full effect, you have to trust the process.”
Chase Hutchinson of the Seattle Times praised the series for asking challenging questions.
“The more it goes on, the more ‘Pluribus’ becomes a show of immense, urgent feeling, one that grapples with the terrors of growing numb to loss. It’s about survival versus resistance, compliance versus conflict, fantasy versus reality, and whether a false happiness is worth losing all of who you were for.
“Carol is a bit of a grump,” he writes, “but she’s our grump, a graceful sliver of humanity’s complexity in a world that’s seeking to flatten it.”
What have fans said about ‘Pluribus’?
Fan reviews on Rotten Tomatoes have also been mostly glowing. The show currently boasts an 84% rating from audiences at home.
“Vince Gilligan is the greatest TV writer/show runner of the Gen X cohort. The pilot is original, riveting, mysterious, funny and tragic, all at the same time. I cannot remember being so engaged in a story, at least since his last masterpiece, ‘Better Call Saul,’” wrote one.
“I was hooked from the beginning. Kept up the pace. Kept up the excitement so far threw (sic) the first 2 episodes … The acting is superb! Finally something exciting to watch! Thank you,” another agreed.
Not all viewers were happy with “Pluribus.” A handful said they were disappointed by the show and confused by all its glowing reviews.
“I went in knowing nothing about this show plus I’m a massive sci-fi fan but I just don’t understand the hype here,” wrote one in part, adding, “It’s like people’s body were taken over and forced to give 5 stars.”
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