Showrunner Vince Gilligan says the timeline for a second season of Apple TV show Pluribus remains uncertain, cautioning fans that progress in the writers’ room has been slower than anticipated.

Speaking at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival, the showrunner said the team has been working for months but has yet to reach the pace he had hoped for, casting doubt on an earlier projection that new episodes could arrive by late 2027.

“It takes forever, making this thing. I wish it was faster. We appreciate everybody’s patience very much, more and more as the months drag on. But thank you, anyone who likes the show. We are honest to God doing our best”.

Pluribus debuted in November 2025 as the biggest drama launch for Apple TV+, earning both commercial success and awards traction. Actress Rhea Seehorn won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award for her performance, raising expectations for a follow-up season.

Gilligan suggested that the previously discussed late-2027 timeline “probably isn’t realistic,” adding that the extended development process reflects the care required to match the show’s debut. He also referred to the faster turnaround of The Pitt.

“They’re kicking our butts in every award show,” he said. “They managed to make a great show and bring it in one year later, on the day, for the new season.… How frigging long is this gonna take? I don’t know. We’re doing our best. It takes forever, making this thing. I wish it was faster. We appreciate everybody’s patience very much, more and more as the months drag on. But thank you, anyone who likes the show. We are honest to God doing our best.”

Despite the delays, Gilligan framed the creative struggle as intrinsic to the process. “I want it to get easy, but it never does,” he said. “And in my heart of hearts, I know that if it ever did get easy, that’s when it’s time to call it a day. That’s the time to retire. Because if it ever got easy, it wouldn’t mean that I had mastered it. It would mean that I was at that point a hack and I was phoning it in. Because if you’re doing it right, it’s never gonna get easy.”

Gilligan also stressed that Pluribus is not structured as a mystery-box series. “If you’re waiting for everyone to pull their faces off and magically it’ll be reptilian evil, don’t hold your breath,” he said. “You might already know everything you need to know.” Then, taking it one step further: “If you’re really into those, watch something else other than Pluribus.”

Gilligan also raised concerns about industry trends, including artificial intelligence. “I worry about AI,” he says. “I worry about one company owning everything.”

But he expressed confidence in the enduring value of human storytelling. “People care about people. Every story you’ve ever been enamored of, whether it’s science fiction or a horror movie, all the best stories are about people. At the end of the day, people want authenticity. They want truth. They want real human emotion. That’s why I continue to have hope. People are never gonna get tired of storytelling, and humans tell stories, not machines.”