{"id":276724,"date":"2025-11-07T06:39:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T06:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/276724\/"},"modified":"2025-11-07T06:39:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T06:39:08","slug":"rhea-seehorn-in-vince-gilligans-latest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/276724\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhea Seehorn in Vince Gilligan’s Latest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tFor several years, you could set your watch by a series of recurring columns written by TV critics. In June, there was, \u201cWhy Emmy Voters Would Be Dumb To Ignore Better Call Saul<\/a> Star Rhea Seahorn!\u201d followed in July by, \u201cWhy Emmy Voters Were Dumb to Ignore Rhea Seehorn<\/a>!\u201d That evolved in the AMC drama\u2019s last two seasons to, \u201cHoly Cow, Emmy Voters Nominated Rhea Seehorn!\u201d and finally \u201cMan, Emmy Voters Really Loved Not Giving Emmys to Better Call Saul!\u201d It was a roller coaster.<\/p>\n

\n\tOne person who didn\u2019t need the annual reminder, of course, was Better Call Saul co-creator Vince Gilligan<\/a>, frequent up-close beneficiary of the wry, romantic, tormented brilliance that Seehorn and Kim Wexler contributed to the Breaking Bad prequel.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tPluribus\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe Bottom Line<\/p>\n

\tAn intriguing and sometimes hilarious star showcase.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAirdate: Friday, Nov. 7 (Apple TV)
Cast: Rhea Seehorn
Creator: Vince Gilligan<\/p>\n

\n\tLike several of my peers, I had concerns about the kind of parts that Seehorn might be offered once Better Call Saul ended. When Gilligan announced that she would be the star of his follow-up series, his first creation or co-creation outside of that television universe since The Lone Gunman in 2001 (unless you count CBS\u2019 Battle Creek, which you probably shouldn\u2019t), it was cause for celebration. If anybody knew how to make a Rhea Seehorn vehicle, it would be Gilligan. Right?<\/p>\n

\n\tThat question can be answered simply: Correct!<\/p>\n

\n\tPluribus<\/a>, which premieres its nine-episode first season (a second was part of the original pickup) Friday on Apple TV<\/a>, is a Rhea Seehorn vehicle through-and-through. It\u2019s a pure and, at times, solo showcase that might have worked to some degree with other actresses of a similar quality, but delivers its blend of emotional drama, broad comedy and unsettling horror thanks to Seehorn\u2019s versatility.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s the easy answer to the easiest question one can ask about Pluribus and perhaps the last time I\u2019ll be able to give you a straightforward answer on a show announced, developed and promoted with great secrecy by Apple. Pluribus simultaneously benefits from audiences not knowing EVERYTHING about it going in, but may not be designed to bear up under the pressure of Gilligan-based expectations or the weight of a complete and total blackout. It\u2019s a big target to put on a show and I think audiences and readers probably benefit from knowing\u2026 a bit.<\/p>\n

\n\tIf you want to go in knowing nothing other than its basic auspices, prepare to stop reading. It\u2019s an extremely funny, somewhat unsettling, impressively odd show that gains in confidence across the seven episodes sent to critics. Expect a new ritual of \u201cWhy Emmy Voters Would Be Dumb To Ignore Pluribus Star Rhea Seahorn!\u201d pieces starting next spring. There you go. Nothing spoiled.<\/p>\n

\n\tI promise the rest of this review will say more, but the actual, tangible spoilers, especially related to anything after the first episode, written and directed by Gilligan, will be kept to an absolute minimum.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut curious readers will probably still have questions.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat, in broad strokes, is Pluribus about?<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, Seehorn plays Carol Sturka, author of a series of successful novels that bookstores describe as \u201cspeculative historical romance literature.\u201d Think Diana Gabaldon.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs the show begins, Carol is completing the tour for her latest book, accompanied by Helen (Miriam Shor), her manager and life partner. Carol is tired of writing speculative historical romance literature. She\u2019s tired of answering dumb questions from dedicated fans. She\u2019s tired of keeping her relationship with Helen a bit of a secret and tired of the fact that she has to blow into a breathalyzer to start her car.<\/p>\n

\n\tCarol is just tired. She has aspirations of finally completing a \u201cserious\u201d novel, but she knows her publisher isn\u2019t excited to have her branch out beyond her popular Wycaro franchise.<\/p>\n

\n\tActually, that\u2019s not entirely how Pluribus begins. It begins with a countdown and with scientists at a listening post receiving a message from deep in space. The message contains instructions. The instructions lead additional scientists to research. And the research leads to the moment the countdown reaches zero, which happens to be the moment when Carol and Helen return home to Albuquerque.<\/p>\n

\n\tVery quickly, Carol realizes that the people of Albuquerque are a little changed. The people of the world are a little changed. Carol may, in fact, be one of the few people who remains the way she used to be, which is ironic, because before all of this happened, Carol wasn\u2019t especially comfortable with any part of her identity.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s all you\u2019re giving us?<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m being evasive here, but the show itself is evasive. Some viewers will be frustrated at the pace information is distributed in Pluribus. Others will recognize that the show is driven by Carol\u2019s perspective and that information is distributed based on her interest and logic. That she is, initially, disinterested in asking the questions many in the audience will want asked is infuriating and intentional. She learns things as she changes and becomes more curious and receptive. It\u2019s a key journey of the show.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat does the title mean?<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m not here to explain Latin to you.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat, in broad strokes, is Pluribus thematically about?<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, It\u2019s about the internet and about AI, about anything that offers the simulacrum of community and togetherness, with the after-effect of leaving us feeing more lonely and more disconnected from community than we were before, a modernity in which algorithms and virtual assistants and intrusive surveillance can make us feel seen, when we\u2019re actually being watched and quantified.<\/p>\n

\n\tOr something like that. It\u2019s perhaps a little thematically evasive too, or at least resistant to on-the-nose readings, which makes attempted analysis fun.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat, in broad strokes, will Pluribus remind me of?<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, it\u2019s a little 3 Body Problem<\/a> and a little Last Man on Earth. Carol actually references several movies that it\u2019s like, and if you want a version of the show that\u2019s less subtle and more amenable to on-the-nose readings, there are at least two shows from the great Robert and Michelle King that would fit that bill.<\/p>\n

\n\tWait. Given the Gilligan and Seehorn of it all, will Pluribus remind me of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul?<\/p>\n

\n\tIf you watch the closing credits, it certainly will. It\u2019s a glorious reunion of talented people, including writer-producers Gordon Smith and Alison Tatlock, plus much of the technical crew, like cinematographer Marshall Adams, production designer Denise Pizzini, editor Skip Macdonald, composer Dave Porter, costumer Jennifer L. Bryan and music supervisor Thomas Golubic.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor a while, you may need to reach to find other similarities, but as Carol starts trying to find a solution for humanity\u2019s predicament, it becomes an elaborate \u201cprocess\u201d show \u2014 lots of cheeky \u201cSomebody\u2019s got a convoluted plan!\u201d montages \u2014 in ways that have a lot in common with Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Emmy purposes, what is Apple likely to do with Pluribus?<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, episodes are between 40 minutes and an hour, so I assume it will be submitted as a drama. It has dramatic things in it. What\u2019s happening in Albuquerque and around the globe isn\u2019t great, but a lot of people seem happy. It\u2019s a little horror and a little sci-fi and since the Emmys don\u2019t recognize genres other than \u201ccomedy\u201d or \u201cdrama,\u201d those don\u2019t count. So \u201cdrama.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut it\u2019s a comedy, or at least it functions best as a comedy, one in which sometimes nightmarishly dark things happen and other times nightmarishly dark things are implied.<\/p>\n

\n\tA lot of the tonal peculiarity of Pluribus, which I liked very much, comes from Gilligan\u2019s direction of the first two episodes. I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s a director currently working in TV who gets as much value out of every corner of the frame as Gilligan does, which is why so many of his episodes improve upon second viewing. That\u2019s true of the Pluribus pilot.<\/p>\n

\n\tSometimes he uses the depth of his field to build suspense or terror, like several scenes in which Carol is driving through her changed world and it\u2019s necessary to monitor the unrest in the background nearly as much as what Seehorn is doing in the foreground. But just as often, he uses it to capture the banal absurdities adjacent to the high drama of everyday life. Pluribus and The Lowdown<\/a> are two of the funniest shows of the fall but I expect both to be treated as dramas by awards groups.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs the show progresses, there are long stretches that the snobby among our ranks will compare to Jacques Tati, with droll commentary on contemporary life baked equally into throwaway sight gags and deceptively elaborate set pieces. Pluribus has plenty of both.<\/p>\n

\n\tSeehorn is less Monsieur Hulot, however, and more Buster Keaton. When she purses her lips and sets her chin, Seehorn conveys immediate sternness and sourness. Carol may not ask the questions you want asked, but if you think the show\u2019s particular circumstances might warrant irritation, incredulity and liberal swearing, Seehorn makes Carol into your end-of-the-world avatar. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Seehorn opens up and lightens up, though, when she goes behind the grouchy facade, she\u2019s exactly the kind of actress you want steering a one-woman show. She\u2019s broad and raw one moment and rays of light burst out the next and she barely needs dialogue to present a full character arc. If you\u2019ve ever wondered why critics have built a Cult of Rhea Seehorn, just watch the first half of Pluribus\u2018 seventh episode.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo is the show really ALL about Rhea Seehorn?<\/p>\n

\n\tHonestly? Mostly, though to explain further would spoil things. There are very good guest performances, from veteran soap star Peter Bergman in the pilot to a joyful and amusing Samba Schutte \u2014 well chosen for being nearly Seehorn\u2019s opposite in projected attitude \u2014 to the properly enigmatic Karolina Wydra. But mostly, it\u2019s about Seehorn and Gilligan and Albuquerque and a plot that kept me just curious enough to ignore the surplus of genre familiarity, plus a tricky tone that hit right on my wavelength.<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ll have to see the season\u2019s last two episodes to know if Pluribus is one of the year\u2019s best shows, but the potential is there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For several years, you could set your watch by a series of recurring columns written by TV critics.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[5896,57702,88,57704,92313,62069],"class_list":{"0":"post-276724","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-apple-tv","9":"tag-better-call-saul","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-pluribus","12":"tag-rhea-seehorn","13":"tag-vince-gilligan"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}