DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I'm TV critic David Bianculli. Vince Gilligan, the creator of "Breaking Bad" and cocreator of "Better Call Saul," has a new series called "Pluribus." It stars Rhea Seehorn from "Better Call Saul." And the first two of its nine episodes premiere tonight on Apple TV+. Seven of the nine were made available for preview, and I've seen them all. But I want you to have as much fun watching "Pluribus" as I did, so I'm going to say as little as possible about what happens in them.
Apple TV+ already has renewed "Pluribus" for a Season 2, and it's a smart move. Vince Gilligan once again has come up with a boldly brilliant TV series. The best way to describe "Pluribus" without revealing anything, is to think of it as an episode of "The Twilight Zone" spun off into its own series. It begins with scientists monitoring a radio telescope and discovering something new and exciting.
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UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Dave) It's got to be something bouncing off the...
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) It's not bouncing off the moon, Dave.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Dave) Well, maybe it's those Chatty Cathys at the Forest Service. I hate those guys. Always on their radios talking about trees.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) Dave, it's not Smokey Bear we're picking up. Look at that signal. It's drifting.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As Dave) What is it then?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character, laughter).
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character) Looks like simple pulse-width modulation. Old-school like Morse code.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #5: (As character) Maybe somehow it's the time signal out of Fort Collins. They use pulse-width modulation.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) It's not the atomic clock. The atomic clock changes every minute because it's a clock. This is the same exact data repeated every 78 seconds.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Plus, this is coming from 600 light-years away.
BIANCULLI: That's similar to the way another fantasy drama series, "Three Body Problem," began recently. But this new series has other plots and plot twists on its mind. Before too long, we meet the protagonist of "Pluribus." She's Carol Sturka, bestselling author of sexy, sappy sci-fi fantasy novels. And she's played by Rhea Seehorn, who was so unforgettably real and relatable as Kim Wexler in "Better Call Saul." We meet Carol at a Barnes & Noble in Dallas reading from her book to her adoring fans then signing copies and interacting with them before retreating with her agent and best friend, Helen, to a local bar. At the bar, Helen, played by Miriam Shor, offers a toast to the new book tour, a toast Carol rejects.
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MIRIAM SHOR: (As Helen) Best book tour. What is that? Is that, like, best stomach cancer? You endure it, you do not toast it. Oh, how I hate all those paying customers showering me with love and respect. And why do I have to make so much money, wah? How do you bear it?
BIANCULLI: Carol has fame and money and a beautiful house back home in Albuquerque. Yes, once again, Gilligan and company have returned there to film parts of this new series. But all that doesn't seem to make her happy. And when people around her suddenly start acting very strangely, she feels even more isolated. Apple TV+ in its own press materials describes the premise of "Pluribus" this way. The most miserable person on Earth, it says, must save the world from happiness. And even if I wanted to elaborate, the streaming service's press restrictions on spoilers make it next to impossible. I've never seen such a long, detailed list of plot points not to reveal, but I don't mind.
If you stick with "The Twilight Zone" analogy, you'll notice echoes in "Pluribus" from various classic "Zone" episodes. A woman all alone in her home fighting against a mysterious enemy surrounding her. A woman fighting against a society that wants her to conform and act just like them. A man all alone with buildings and streets deserted, trying to survive, and so on. Vince Gilligan was a writer and producer on "The X-Files." And his love of the genre comes through loud and clear here like a radio signal from across the universe. And what he's doing in "Pluribus," while having fun with themes from "The Twilight Zone" and classic sci-fi films like "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers," somehow is paradoxically bordering on unique.
Yes, he and his creative team of writers and directors dip into Gilligan's familiar bag of tricks, beautiful photography, long extended set pieces and montages, intense and lengthy conversations among characters. But the way those characters are introduced and dealt with here, and the way the plot widens and deepens to say so much about so many big idea topics, it's as singularly and hypnotically odd in its way as "Twin Peaks" was. It's disturbing, unpredictable and alternately funny and creepy.
And while Rhea Seehorn doesn't carry all of the weight of "Pluribus" - other costars including Karolina Wydra and Carlos-Manuel Vesga are wonderful, too - her Carol is a character you'll relate to, laugh at and buy into completely. The opening episode, written and directed by Gilligan, takes her on a wild and crazy ride. And we go right along with her. And Gilligan and "Pluribus" ask a larger question as well. Fighting for life and liberty, that's a given. But what if the pursuit of happiness is vastly overrated, maybe even dangerous?
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BIANCULLI: On Monday's show, Academy Award winner Tim Robbins talks about "Topsy Turvy," the new play he wrote in response to pandemic isolation. From "The Shawshank Redemption" to founding The Actors' Gang, Robbins discusses how his commitment to creating politically relevant art has shaped his four-decade career. I hope you can join us. To keep up with what's on the show and get highlights of our interviews, follow us on Instagram at @nprfreshair.
FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Sam Briger is our managing producer. Our senior producer today is Roberta Shorrock. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham, with additional engineering support by Joyce Lieberman, Julian Herzfeld and Diana Martinez. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Thea Chaloner, Susan Nyakundi and Anna Bauman. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Hope Wilson is our consulting visual producer. For Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley, I'm David Bianculli.
(SOUNDBITE OF DAVE PORTER'S "PLURIBUS THEME (MAIN TITLE THEME FROM 'PLURIBUS')") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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