There is a trade-off that every filmmaker must strike when they agree to work with Apple — with creative freedom, they must accept a relatively smaller reach. But Apple is the home that Vince Gilligan chose for his new show, Pluribus, which inspired a bidding war in Hollywood following the generation-defining success of Gilligan’s Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. The two crime dramas originally aired on AMC, but were able to become massive mainstream hits thanks to their availability on Netflix. However, because Apple’s library is minuscule compared to its competitors’, films and shows are able to breathe. Pluribus has now passed a major milestone, having completed a full month on the streamer’s domestic top 10 charts.
Starring Rhea Seehorn, with whom Gilligan worked on Better Call Saul, the science-fiction series follows a woman who finds that she is immune to an alien virus that has transformed most humanity into an unthinking entity. The show opened to near-universal acclaim, with praise in particular being directed at the tone and writing. Pluribus holds a “certified fresh” 98% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “Genuinely original science-fiction fare from television veteran Vince Gilligan, Pluribus leads Rhea Seehorn through a brave new world with plentiful returns.” In her review, Collider’s Carly Lane described the show as “equal parts unnerving, hilarious, heartbreaking, and always unexpected.”
‘Pluribus’ Set Viewership Records for Apple
The show premiered with two episodes on November 7, and will conclude with its ninth and final episode later this month. According to FlixPatrol, Pluribus has been outperforming shows such as The Last Frontier, The Morning Show, Slow Horses, and Apple’s two most popular sci-fi titles — Severance and Invasion. Severance made a long-awaited return earlier this year, and received widespread acclaim. The show’s second season is currently sitting at a “certified fresh” 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Pluribus‘ two-episode debut beat the previous record set by Severance, becoming Apple’s most-watched premiere. The show recently earned two nods at the Golden Globes, for Best Television Series — Drama and Best Actress in a Television Series — Drama.
You can watch the show on Apple TV, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Release Date
November 6, 2025
Network
Apple TV
Directors
Adam Bernstein, Zetna Fuentes, Melissa Bernstein
Writers
Ariel Levine
