The latest TV series from Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, arrived on Apple TV streaming surrounded by a considerable amount of mystery. Cryptic trailers and promo clips refused to divulge exactly what the show is about. Even the spelling of its title is unclear. Is it Pluribus or Plur1bus? IMDb and other sources list it as the former, while the episode opening credits use the latter.
One thing obvious enough from the publicity is that the show would lean much more toward Gilligan’s early career as a producer on The X Files than on his more recent work (though the story is primarily set in Albuquerque). Now that the first couple episodes have debuted, the premise and plot have come substantially more into focus. I suspect that Plur1bus is the type of series that will appeal very strongly to a niche audience of sci-fi fans (a demographic Apple often courts), but probably won’t become a breakout hit like Breaking Bad and its spin-off were. That’s not necessarily the end of the world, even if, ironically, the show itself is pretty much about the end of the world.
| Title: | Plur1bus |
| Season: | 1 |
| Episodes: | 1.01 – We Is Us 1.02 – Pirate Lady |
| Release Date: | November 7, 2025 |
| Watched On: | Apple TV (formerly Apple TV+) |
A character in the first episode of Plur1bus explicitly tells the story’s heroine that the events happening around her are not an alien invasion. That may be true in a technical sense, but she doesn’t buy it, and neither should viewers. This is absolutely a classic Body Snatchers tale, with an interesting turn to put a fresh perspective on it.
At the start of what’s stated to be a 439-day countdown, radio telescope researchers at the Very Large Array in New Mexico excitedly detect what appears to be a repeating communication signal originating from 600 light years away in outer space. The message is eventually determined to be a formula for a biological compound. Scientists, perhaps ill-advisedly, test this on rats in what they believe are safely quarantined conditions. Naturally, that doesn’t work out as well as hoped. One of the rats bites a human, and immediately starts a viral outbreak that rapidly spreads to infect hundreds, then thousands, then millions of people until, on Day 439, everyone on Earth joins an alien intelligence that takes over the planet.
Well, almost everyone. Most of these occurrences happen outside the notice of, and would be of little interest to, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), an author of trashy historical romance novels that even she self-loathingly admits are “mindless crap.” Carol is just returning home to Albuquerque from her latest book tour when the world completely falls apart around her. Everyone nearby lapses into catatonic seizures, even her tour manager (and, we come to realize, girlfriend), who dies in front of her. Cars and planes crash, cities burn, and Carol can find no help from police or doctors. Everyone is affected… except her.
When the seizures end, everyone simply stands up and robotically gets to work cleaning up the mess. As Carol soon learns, a significant number of people (like her girlfriend) died during the transition. The rest now operate under a hive mind, sharing thoughts, memories, and a single consciousness. The concept of individuality is virtually wiped out. Anything that happens to any single person on Earth happens to all of them simultaneously. Just not to Carol, who remains inexplicably immune.
“They” (the entity now in charge) present themselves as friendly and helpful. They assure Carol that they mean no harm, that she’s safe and, chillingly, that they’re already working on a way to fix her so she can join their happy collective. Carol, naturally enough, wants none of this and freaks the hell out about it. Unfortunately, her bitter attitude and anger issues turn out to have terrible consequences on an unimaginably large scale, leaving her unable even to have the mental breakdown she sits poised on the brink of.
The fascinating twist Plur1bus brings to the Body Snatchers theme is the notion that maybe the world is actually better off under alien control, and Carol’s stubbornness prevents her from seeing it. The new world order has no more crime, or wars, or conflict of any kind, except that which Carol herself causes. When she learns that about a dozen other people across the globe are similarly unaffected, Carol insists on convening a gathering of those that speak English, only to find that none of them share her concerns. They’re content with the current situation, which has improved their lives and seemingly improved the whole world. One even actively wishes to join the hive collective. Only Carol remains a holdout. She values her individuality too much and wants the world back the way she knew it, warts and all.
Rhea Seehorn (formerly of Gilligan’s Better Call Saul) makes an appealing lead, and the first couple episodes deliver a compelling mixture of ominous dread, paranoia, and a bit of satire. The story is interesting enough so far to hook me into watching more episodes. My main concern at this point is the question of whether the show is designed to have any closure in the first season. If not, will it be successful enough for Apple to greenlight more seasons that might provide some satisfactory resolution to the story?
Video Streaming
Plub1bus premiered on Apple TV this past Friday, November 7, 2025. Despite early trailers and clips that seemed to indicate a full-screen 16:9 presentation, the episodes are actually framed at a much wider 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Constant Image Height viewers should be aware that the second episode contains at least one scene with foreign dialogue, for which English subtitles frustratingly dip well into the lower letterbox bar.
In other respects, the show has very strong production values. Its 4K HDR image is quite sharp, with very nice colors, contrast, and highlights. During the first episode, my inclination was to say the Dolby Atmos soundtrack is fine but undistinguished, with little notable surround or overhead activity. However, the second episode gets a little more creative, and makes use of the height speakers for plane and helicopter flyovers. It also has one scene with the sound of a fly buzzing around the back of the listening space. Fidelity is impressive, but this isn’t the type of show likely to put much strain on a subwoofer.
The Video File Blog 
I watched the first two episodes last night. Interesting enough. I wasn’t totally enamored but am curious enough to see how it resolves. I like Rhea Seehorn from BCS so that will keep me watching a bit longer. There was a really creative Atmos moment when the guy was hanging off the man basket and you could hear his voice from up above and some of the noises from the machine if I recall correctly.
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