When I saw the trailer last year, I thought that might be one of those shows that I could either love or hate. Turns out, I absolutely loved season one of Pluribus! The show starts with astronomers discovering a strong radio signal originating hundreds of light-years away. After lots of guessing and experimenting, it turns out to be an RNA sequence. That got injected into mice, a mouse bites a researcher, and so a mysterious infection starts to spread.
A bit later, Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), a fantasy author with a tendency to drown her frustration in alcohol, returns home to Albuquerque (New Mexico) from a book tour. While “celebrating” the end of the tour at a bar with her wife, all of a sudden, people freeze. Some panic-driving later, everyone awakens again, but they are different… everyone except Carol. Turns out that the infection has by now spread worldwide; everyone infected is now part of a single hive-mind. World peace has finally been reached, and everyone is happy. Everyone except Carol.
Well, if the world is finally at peace, the show doesn’t have to be all that fast, and it definitely is not. A few reviews I’ve seen primarily complain that pretty much nothing happens in some episodes. To me, that’s somehow the point: Carol is pretty much alone; everything happens without her somehow in the background. But even in those “slow” episodes, you learn something new about “The others,” and over the 10 episodes of season one, a picture starts to emerge.
Would I’ve liked a bit more revelation in those 8 hours? Probably, but the pacing was also just right for me. I wasn’t in the mood for another fast and action-centric show. I wanted something slow yet interesting, where the fascination comes from looking at the details and having enough time to do so. There is also a lot of sarcasm and humor in the whole setup despite humanity as we know it having disappeared.
It’s probably not for everyone (especially those who like fast-paced shows), but for me, it’s yet another show that hooks me into AppleTV+. Now I just have to wait until 2027 for the next season. 😩
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