The Aliens (TV series)

Lore & Background

The Aliens was created and written by Fintan Ryan, who had previously written BBC shows Never Better and In the Flesh. The series was produced by Clerkenwell Films for E4 and filmed at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Bulgaria. During filming, Michaela Coel reported experiencing racist attacks. Ryan acknowledged links between the show's narrative and the ongoing European migrant crisis, telling The Guardian: 'With immigrants, there's a colonial history that leaves you in debt to them. Here, we don't owe them [the aliens] anything, but they've landed on our planet and we've got to do something with them.'

Reader's Guide

The Aliens aired on E4 beginning 8 March 2016, and later on Space in Canada in May, concluding on 8 June 2016. In Germany, ZDFneo aired the show in October 2016. Viral marketing for the series was organized by Channel 4's in-house creative agency 4Creative, centered on the slogan 'Fight Human Oppression' and interrupting several Channel 4 shows throughout February 2016. The List's Brian Donaldson compared the show to the 2015 Humans, noting it 'dives headlong into the issues it wants to tackle... politicians talking about building walls is barely off the news just now and The Aliens taps right into this.' Tim Dowling of The Guardian called it 'Tremendous fun.' Channel 4 announced in May 2016 that The Aliens would not be renewed for a second series.

Did You Know?

• The series was created and written by Fintan Ryan, who previously wrote BBC shows Never Better and In the Flesh.
• Michaela Coel reported experiencing racist attacks during filming at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Bulgaria.
• Viral marketing for the show used the slogan 'Fight Human Oppression' and interrupted Channel 4 shows in February 2016.

Creative Origins & the Bidding War

After a decade crafting morally compromised antagonists across Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Vince Gilligan admitted he was simply tired of writing villains. During the production of Better Call Saul, a new idea took shape: a world in which a cataclysmic event left everyone adoring a single individual. He flipped the concept on its head, making the protagonist a woman and envisioning a collective consciousness rather than a lone hero. The hive mind would arrive via a signal from space carrying RNA code, keeping the premise as grounded as possible. He wrote the role specifically for Rhea Seehorn, describing her character as a flawed good guy attempting to save the world. Seehorn, when told Gilligan was developing something written for her, committed before even reading a page. After Better Call Saul wrapped in August 2022, Gilligan pitched the series through Sony Pictures Television. The project ignited the first-ever bidding war for one of his properties, with Apple TV ultimately securing the rights in September 2022 and attaching a two-season commitment. From a shortlist of more than one hundred candidate titles, the show settled on Pluribus, a nod to the American motto e pluribus unum.

The World of the Joining

At the heart of Pluribus sits a deceptively simple premise with enormous philosophical weight. An extraterrestrial virus, transmitted through a signal carrying RNA code, sweeps across the planet in an event the show calls the Joining. Rather than destroying humanity, it transforms nearly everyone into a serene, cooperative collective known as the Others. They are not hostile; they are content and even happy to accommodate the wishes of the handful of immune survivors. Yet they are candid about their long-term intention: once they figure out how, they will absorb the remaining individuals into the collective. Only thirteen people on Earth resist the transformation. Carol Sturka, a romance novelist based in Albuquerque, is among them and fiercely opposes the Others' assimilation agenda. The show populates this world with diverse immune individuals, each responding differently to their isolation. Manousos Oviedo, a Colombian man in Paraguay, refuses all contact with the Others. Koumba Diabaté, a Mauritanian, embraces hedonism in the post-outbreak world. Laxmi, an Indian survivor, is openly hostile toward Carol, while Kusimayu, a Peruvian villager, is open to joining the collective. Zosia, a Polish member of the Others, serves as Carol's chaperone and liaison, creating an uneasy partnership at the narrative's center.

Critical Acclaim & Award Recognition

Pluribus debuted on Apple TV on November 7, 2025, and immediately drew widespread critical praise. Reviewers singled out Vince Gilligan's writing and direction, Rhea Seehorn's commanding performance as Carol Sturka, and the series' originality and tonal balance. The show's stylistic influences were noted as a distinctive blend, though a minority of critics found the pacing uneven. The awards season that followed was extraordinary. At the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, Pluribus collected eighteen nominations, including the top prize for Outstanding Drama Series, alongside acting nods for Seehorn, Karolina Wydra, Carlos-Manuel Vesga, Jeff Hiller, and Miriam Shor. Seehorn's work earned her the Best Actress in a Drama Series trophy at both the Golden Globe Awards and the Critics' Choice Awards, where the series also received additional nominations. The show was further honored with a Peabody Award and named by the American Film Institute as one of the ten best television programs of 2025. Riding this momentum, Apple TV greenlit a second season, confirming that the story Gilligan had planned across four seasons would continue.

Production Craft & Long-Term Vision

The making of Pluribus was shaped by both external disruption and deliberate long-range planning. The 2023 Writers Guild of America strike interrupted the first season's writing schedule, forcing Gilligan and his writers' room to regroup in October 2023 to complete the final two episodes. The strike also delayed the start of principal photography and created scheduling conflicts that required executive producer Gordon Smith to step in behind the camera for at least one episode. Filming ultimately ran from February through September 2024 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, under the working title Wycaro 339, with each episode carrying a reported 15 million dollar budget. What distinguished Pluribus from Gilligan's earlier work was the depth of its forward planning. He and his team mapped the arc across a full four-season run, meaning the season-one finale's delivery of an atomic bomb to Carol was a deliberate seed planted for a later payoff. The original ending was revised after notes from Apple and Sony executives, a change Gilligan credited with producing a stronger conclusion. He acknowledged, however, that he would welcome a better idea should one emerge. This methodical approach stood in contrast to the improvisational pressure points that had plagued Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.