Vince Gilligan's New Series 'Pluribus' Is Crushing Its Marketing Game

If you’re as established as Vince Gilligan, the creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, the best way to market your new show would be to shroud it in secrecy and create a spectacle around that secrecy. No one knows anything about Pluribus, other than that it stars Rhea Seehorn and used to go under the working title, Wycaro 339.

Apple announced Vince Gilligan would be making this series for the streamer — and that two seasons were picked up, immediately — nearly three years ago. And in that time, the public has learned nothing, and trust me: I’ve looked high and low for any whiff of information about it.

I got zilch, except a woman licking donuts and Rhea Seehorn playing a character named Carol walking out of an office building splattered with blood.

There’s a phone number at the end of that teaser. If you call it, there’s a message that says merely: “Hi Carol. We’re so glad you called. We can’t wait for you to join us.” It then offers to get back to you via text message, which reads, “Please know your life is your own, Carol. You have agency!”

And then it offers to sign you up for text updates. Naturally, I accepted. “You must have so many questions for us,” the text message reads. (Yes, I do!) “Understand, we only want to make you happy. We’ll be in touch soon.”

Thanks, Pluribus. For nothing. But I cannot wait to watch. Bob Odenkirk, who has no involvement whatsoever and knows a little as the rest of us, already think it’s going to be the next Game of Thrones-sized show. He may be right.