Out of its many achievements, these ones stand out: it is Apple TV’s most-watched show ever, it has a score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and it was renewed for season 2 right away. As someone who rarely watches films or TV shows, and who greatly enjoyed Pluribus, I can say it definitely deserved the acclaim.

The show’s creator is Vince Gilligan, who’s also responsible for making cult classics such as Breaking Bad (2008–13) and its prequel, Better Call Saul (2015–22). So it’s no surprise that Pluribus was also a success. Not only that, but the three shows also share the same setting – Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States.

The main character, Carol Sturka, is played by Rhea Seehorn, who played Saul’s wife Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul. It’s a standout performance, for which she won her first Golden Globe.

The story follows Carol, a lesbian and best-selling novelist, who turns out to be immune, along with just 12 other people across the whole world, to an alien virus that turns everybody into a hive mind.

Those affected by the virus, despite being very docile and unable to hurt a fly (seriously, they can’t even pluck an apple from a tree), have one biological imperative: to spread the virus. Sturka, a freedom-loving woman who wants to keep her individuality, is strictly against the idea.

Over the nine episodes, each lasting around 50 minutes, Carol strives to collaborate with the other 12 survivors to reverse the effects of the virus, but none of them are interested. Except for one.

Manousos Oviedo, born in Colombia but living in Paraguay, travels all the way to Albuquerque in response to a video Sturka forwarded to him, asking him to help her “save the world”. This journey takes a while, and in the meantime Carol seems to have fallen in love with Zosia, a woman affected by the virus who looks just like the (male) love interest in Carol’s books.

Certain moments are coloured depending on the context. For example, blue hues predominate when Carol is spending time with Zosia and is seemingly gaslighting herself that Zosia is also an individual and not part of the hive, despite her still using “we” instead of “I”, like everyone else affected by the virus.

Following the same logic, the Pluribus poster’s main colour is yellow, representing Carol’s desire to remain an individual. I think it’s a clever way to represent crucial themes of the series – collectivism versus individualism.

Many users online criticised Carol for being “annoying” and a “Karen”, a slang term for a middle-aged white woman perceived as obnoxious and entitled. However, I view her as very human and strongly believe that if most people were in her place, they would behave in the same way – such as getting angry while everyone else is annoyingly calm and kind.

I was pleasantly surprised with how well Vince Gilligan conveyed her humanity, and I think that more shows should have main characters with such relatable features.

As a fan of Gilligan’s previous work, the series fulfilled all my expectations, and I’m eagerly waiting for season 2. Unfortunately, it is not expected to arrive until late 2027 or early 2028, but I think it will be totally worth the wait.