Apple TV+ has announced a new series from Breaking Bad Creator Vince Gilligan, but we know almost nothing about it. We first heard about the new series through a social media post of a smiley face in a Petri delivery, we then got our (very vague) first look at what was revealed to be called Pluribus After a fake countdown was sent online. While we know the show will play rhea seehorn that I can now assume will play a woman called Carol (more about that later) what Pluribus is actually about is open to interpretation.
Here’s an overview of what we see in the seconds long Pluribus Teaser. It opens with a wide shot of what seems to be a prison with a guard in the frame, then zooms in for a close look on the guard licking donuts and then placing them in a box. By linking back to the original teaser image shared on social in advance, which contained the tagline ‘Happiness is contagious’ accompanied by a Petri dish that contains a smiley face, we see a sign reading ‘Help yourself’ with the same smiley face.
And that is literally all we know … so far. Apple TV+ has released a phone number without explanation showing Carol, who is asked to call it under “No Press”. It’s not even a message that is meant for me, but I couldn’t help call it to find out more. What I found, astonishing, was even more shocking and confusing than what I had already seen.
I still don’t understand what Apple TV +’s new show from Breaking Bad is about after calling his ominous phone number
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I’ve put on the burden so you don’t need it. If you had to call the phone number from the above ad, here is exactly what you would hear:
It begins: “Hi Carol. We are so glad you called. We can’t wait for you to join us. Dial 0 and we’ll get back to you via SMS.” Of course I’m not Carol, but I called “0” to get the next part of the message.
“Please know that your life is your own, Carol. You have agency!” (Again, my name is not Carol.) “Having said, answer yes to sign up for updates from AppletV+ and accept our terms of use and privacy policy. Freq varies, not consent a condition of purchase, msg & data rates apply. Reply Stop to cancel, help help help.”
A little more boring, but even for a fictitious marketing stunt, Apple has to get its boiler plate T & CS to SMS marketing there in some way. I answered “Yes” and got this answer:
“You need to have so many questions for us! Understand, we will only make you happy. We will be in touch soon. Text stop to stop, help help.”
So Logic tells me I want to hear from the mysterious pluribus voice at some point in the future. What that means I don’t know. When it arrives, I can’t say. Who is Carol? Maybe I’ll never find out. Maybe she never called the number back. Maybe I’m Carol and my parents read my birth certificate wrong.
Currently, the only clue to what on earth is going on, the title itself. ‘Pluribus’ is a Latin word that means ‘many’ or ‘more’. It is most famous used in the phrase ‘e pluribus unum’, which is translated into ‘out of many, one’. If we apply this to what we have seen, Carol is our… but one of what we have no idea.
I would bet on the money that Apple TV+ and Gilligan will see this marketing campaign as much as they can. Obviously, I get part of it sent directly to me and I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry in anticipation.
