Rhea Seehorn Teases Vince Gilligan’s Secret, “Genre‑Defying” Sci‑Fi Pluribus — Premieres Nov. 9

Rhea Seehorn, star of Pluribus, says the new Vince Gilligan sci‑fi series is hard to pin down and promises a mix of humor, suspense and philosophical questions — and the show premieres Nov. 9 on Apple TV Plus.

What Pluribus is about
Secrecy and Seehorn’s collaboration with Vince Gilligan
How Carol compares to Kim Wexler
Albuquerque, sci‑fi influences, and fan reaction
Trailers and teasers
Release date

What Pluribus is about

Apple and Vince Gilligan have kept the plot tight. The official logline reads: “The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.” Beyond that, Apple has only described the premise as the world having “changed in a significant way.”

Secrecy and Seehorn’s collaboration with Vince Gilligan

Seehorn said the production has been highly secretive. She told Polygon: “My own family knows nothing,” and added, “My fiancé knows nothing!”

She also described her working relationship with Gilligan as collaborative on tone and performance, while noting that scripts generally arrived one at a time and Gilligan guided character development based on the story’s long arc.

How Carol compares to Kim Wexler

Seehorn said the two characters are “mostly very different.” In her words, Carol “has no poker face whatsoever,” whereas Kim Wexler was “extraordinarily tightly controlled.”

However, Seehorn noted similarities: both characters “have a set of rules and ethics for themselves” and both are socially inhibited in different ways. She described Carol as “the ultimate reluctant hero.”

Albuquerque, sci‑fi influences, and fan reaction

Shooting returned to Albuquerque, a city Gilligan has used as a setting before. Seehorn said the landscape can be “beautiful, inviting and romantic” and also “imposing and lonely and mysterious,” which she felt suits the show’s tone.

Seehorn said she is a fan of psychological sci‑fi and cited shows such as Black Mirror, Silo, Severance, and The X‑Files. She also mentioned having worked on one of the new Twilight Zone episodes with Jordan Peele.

When she and the production announced Pluribus at Comic‑Con, Seehorn said she met fans who had been waiting for Vince Gilligan to return to his X‑Files roots; more details about Gilligan and The X‑Files can be found on this page.

Trailers and teasers

Apple has released only a few short teasers that offer limited context. For example, one teaser shows a woman licking donuts, and another shows Seehorn’s character walking outside with a frustrated expression and what appears to be blood on her shirt.

Seehorn described the show’s tone as, in her words, “It’s not just genre-bending, it’s genre-defying.” She also said episodes can feel like “a new show” while remaining connected, and that the series encourages viewers to question what they would do in the characters’ situations.