After taking a long break from science fiction, Vince Gilligan is coming home. The Emmy-winning showrunner got his start on The X-Files (he wrote 30 episodes) and even penned the screenplay for Will Smith’s superhero comedy Hancock. But since 2008, Gilligan has been firmly focused on the world of Breaking Bad. This November, with his new Apple TV series, Pluribus, he’s returning to the genre that launched his career.
The plot and premise of Pluribus are top secret. The trailers and teasers have all been tantalizingly vague. (In one short clip, a woman alone in an office at night calmly lifts donuts out of a box marked “Help yourself!” and licks them before placing them neatly back in the box.) Critics aren’t allowed to say anything about the show’s explosive first episode, beyond the fact that the story kicks off when our modern world changes in a significant way.
So when Polygon spoke to Gilligan ahead of the premiere, we realized we couldn’t ask about the story or development at all. Instead, we asked the most innocuous question we could think of: What other sci-fi shows or movies should people watch to prepare for Pluribus?
“Both [the 1956 and 1978] versions of Invasion of the Body Snatchers; that’s a good touchstone,” Gilligan tells Polygon. “The Twilight Zone, that’s always my go-to. The Thing, John Carpenter’s version. I like both versions, but I especially like the John Carpenter version.”
If you’re a fan of sci-fi or horror, you’ll likely recognize the stories that influenced Pluribus. Its inspirations aren’t exactly subtle — and that’s the point. Gilligan says his goal with the new show was to riff on the genre itself.
“I was thinking of every science fiction trope and horror-movie trope I could throw into this show, and then turn all of those tropes onto their head,” Gilligan says. “ That was what tickled me.”
In other words: Pluribus is a sci-fi show for sci-fi fans. So if you’re coming to it as a Breaking Bad devotee who’s never been much for science fiction, you may want to do a bit of homework beforehand. Gilligan just provided the curriculum.
Pluribus premieres Nov. 7 on Apple TV.
Source link
