Not sure what to expect from Apple TV’s Pluribus? Vince Gilligan says there’ll be ‘all the horror movie tropes’ in the pilot episode

Rhea Seehorn as Carol in Pluribus, looking upset

(Image credit: Apple TV)

You've likely seen some teasers for Pluribus doing the rounds, many of which are mysterious, like the eerie phone number you can call.

The new Apple TV show has many people speculating what to expect, so if you're one of those people then you'll want to hear what series creator Vince Gilligan has teased about the pilot episode.

While not strictly a horror series, there's plenty of horror elements throughout, according to the showrunner. Indeed, the pilot episode is likely going to shock fans when it arrives on November 7 – it certainly shocked me.

Having seen the pilot, I was curious about whether Pluribus was the creepiest thing Gilligan has worked on. In response to this, he said: "Oddly enough, no, because 7 years on The X-Files, we had some genuinely creepy episodes. There's a lot more gore, a lot more violence, and the central story was a lot scarier on The X-Files."

However, you can expect some horror vibes from the pilot in particular and Gilligan said he enjoyed directing those.

Pluribus — Official Trailer | Apple TV - YouTube

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"The thing about Pluribus is that we hit all of the horror movie and science fiction movie tropes purposefully in that first episode in particular, and it was fun directing it, but I knew the whole time what the audience didn't know," Gilligan said.

"What looks to be flat out horror and world ending terrible things happening is really the beginning of a new time, and it's the beginning of a of a people who are very chill. They're very like, hippy dippy and that's where the show becomes funnier."

"In the first episode, we're watching it very much through the eyes of this one woman, Carol Sterka, played by the wonderful Rhea Seehorn, who is just petrified and aghast and fearful. I like that audiences are on the edge of their seat for this first one," he added.

You can expect a lot from Pluribus as the series progresses, and I was especially stunned by its pilot episode, but I enjoyed all the ups and downs and the varying shifts from horror to comedy

Watch Pluribus from November 7 on Apple TV.

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Lucy is a long-time movie and television lover who is an approved critic on Rotten Tomatoes. She has written several reviews in her time, starting with a small self-ran blog called Lucy Goes to Hollywood before moving onto bigger websites such as What's on TV and What to Watch, with TechRadar being her most recent venture. Her interests primarily lie within horror and thriller, loving nothing more than a chilling story that keeps her thinking moments after the credits have rolled. Many of these creepy tales can be found on the streaming services she covers regularly.

When she’s not scaring herself half to death with the various shows and movies she watches, she likes to unwind by playing video games on Easy Mode and has no shame in admitting she’s terrible at them. She also quotes The Simpsons religiously and has a Blinky the Fish tattoo, solidifying her position as a complete nerd.

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