Pluribus: The One Note Vince Gilligan Had for Rhea Seehorn

Vince Gilligan knows about complicated characters. And he knows how people sometimes misunderstand those characters. Gilligan is, of course, best known for creating Breaking Bad, the hit TV series about a high school chemistry teacher who became a drug lord and, along the way, a hero to thousands of viewers. But the same principles are true of Jimmy McGill, the sympathetic figure who hides behind the slick persona of Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul, and certainly of his latest protagonist, romance author turned sole hope for humanity Carol Sturka.

For actor Rhea Seehorn, Sturka is a tricky character who took some time for her and Gilligan to figure out. But Gilligan’s guidance primarily came in one note. “But I do remember him reminding me that she is a very reluctant hero,” Seehorn recalled to Hollywood Reporter. “Her behavioral norms before are not relevant or not working anymore.”

The first half of Pluribus‘ premiere followed Sturka and her agent Helen (Miriam Shor) as they went on what the former considered a miserable book tour. Dismissing her own series of steamy pirate adventure novels as trash and unmoved by the fans who clearly love what she does, Sturka remains unsatisfied. But none of that matters when a virus quickly overtakes all of humanity, giving them a hivemind and making them all docile, indistinct, and, at least by their telling, happy. The one person immune to this virus (that we know of in that moment, at least): the miserable, and now heroic, Carol Sturka.

According to Sheehorn, it took some time for her and Gilligan how to remain true to Sturka’s misery while understanding that she’s the protagonist and hero in the series. “We found her over the course of the episodes. We had to figure out who this person is in this new world,” she said, adding: “The frustration is, ‘My God, does it really have to be me?'”

Although only three episodes of the Apple TV series have been released thus far, Pluribus is already winning over audiences. We here at Den of Geek called it a “must-watch,” adding to the chorus of praise. Because of its strange sci-fi premise, which continues to mutate with each episode, Pluribus makes for gripping television.

And, Sheehorn pointed out, it makes for relatable and entertaining television. “There’s so much drama in that, there’s also so much comedy,” she says of Sturka’s plight. “We’ve all been in situations where you feel like you’re the only one screaming that the barn is on fire and everyone’s like, ‘Just have a drink. What is your problem?'”

In other words, Carol Sturka is just like everyone else, including Gilligan’s other protagonists: complicated, relatable, and deeply human.

The first three episodes of Pluribus are now streaming on Apple TV.