Spoilers just want to help, Carol.

A new series with an intriguing premise that centers on one protagonist becomes more enticing to me when the actor is not a mainstream star. This tells me already this is not a vehicle or someone’s baby. This means the series is going to rise, fall or dwindle on the execution of its premise and the talent of its performers. Obviously there is a lot of risk here, so a leap of faith is needed. It’s only being a couple of episodes, so take all this with a grain of salt.

(Credit: Apple TV+)

Pluribus (2025-) is created by Vince Gilligan. In an unprecedented event, the Earth has received a message from space that leads to a biological experiment that seems to go awry causing the entire world population to become of one mind. Or so we’re being told. That is, almost the entire population. When we meet Carol (Rhea Seehorn), she’s in the middle of her life only to find everyone in her surroundings are suddenly suffering some sort of seizure. Since this includes her friend Helen (Miriam Shor), we get to live Carol’s efforts of trying to get her friend some medical attention. That is until she’s faced with people waking up and behaving as if their consciousness has been merged into a single hive mind.

As much as I try to explain the premise, I will shy away from getting into the actual events that transpire. The first episode, once it focuses on Carol exclusively, is a masterful performance full of pure emotion from the main protagonist as she races through the city. There is a rich vein of dark humour in the way the story is told. Although Carol’s reactions ground the show, the eerie way that the rest of the world seems to go about business as casual as ever has a subtle comedic dystopian feel.

Strongly recommended so far for lovers of the eerie and fantastic hidden behind the subtleness of the mundane. Obviously we’re only a couple of episodes in, so here’s hoping there’s a plan and more surprises ahead. Worth watching the first two episodes alone to see if it gets you hooked.

That will do for now.