Will there be a Pluribus season 2? Renewed or canceled? and everything we know so far

Apple TV’s Pluribus arrived quietly in November 2025, but its impact was anything but subtle. Created by Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul mastermind Vince Gilligan, the sci-fi drama imagines a world transformed by an alien signal that converts most of humanity into a peaceful hive mind. At the center of the story is Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), a romance novelist who remains immune to the event known as “the Joining” and is forced to navigate isolation, grief, and moral compromise in a world that no longer values individuality.

While Pluribus presents itself as a high-concept alien invasion series, its focus has always been deeply personal. Carol’s longing for connection, her resistance to assimilation, and her fraught relationship with the hive’s emissary Zosia give the show its emotional weight. By the time season 1 ends on a shocking cliffhanger involving betrayal, consent, and an actual atom bomb, it’s clear that the story is far from finished. Naturally, the biggest question now is whether Pluribus will return for another season.

Is there a Pluribus season 2

Yes, Pluribus has officially been renewed for season 2, and this was never in doubt. Apple TV greenlit the series with a two-season straight-to-series order, a rare vote of confidence that allowed Vince Gilligan to bypass the traditional pilot process altogether. This confirmation comes directly from Apple TV and the show’s creative team, making it one of the few genre series guaranteed a second chapter from the outset.

While there is no exact release date yet, the timeline is becoming clearer. Season 1 began filming in February 2024 and didn’t premiere until November 2025, largely due to its extensive visual effects and post-production demands. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Gilligan was candid about the pace of development, saying:

“Yeah, it’s going to frustrate some folks, just to be honest. We work at the speed we work at, much like glaciers melt at the speed that they melt at. For my own sake, as much as anybody, selfishly, I wish we could get this job done quicker because I don’t know how many years I’ve got left. I still want to do more things, but I go slower than I used to. So it’s going to be a while between seasons; it just is. Unless we invent a time machine or figure out how to stop time, it’s just the nature of the beast.”

Based on official comments, the writers’ room for season 2 is already underway, with production expected to begin sometime in spring 2026. That likely puts the return of Pluribus in late 2027 or early 2028, assuming a similar post-production schedule.

What do we know about season 2 so far

Season 2 of Pluribus is expected to pick up directly after the explosive finale, which sees Carol abandon her fragile paradise with Zosia after learning that the hive has secretly obtained her frozen eggs. Despite previously agreeing that her stem cells could not be used without consent, the Others exploit a loophole in pursuit of their biological imperative to assimilate her.

That revelation snaps Carol out of her self-imposed denial. She returns to Albuquerque and aligns herself with Manousos (Carlos-Manuel Vesga), another immune survivor who has been independently studying radio frequencies in an attempt to disrupt the hive mind. Their uneasy partnership is sealed when Carol arrives with an encased atom bomb and tells him:

“You win. We save the world.”

Gilligan confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the nuclear cliffhanger was not improvised, stating in full: 

“We’ve got a pretty good idea where we’re going with it. We don’t consciously endeavor to paint ourselves into corners like we used to. We almost did that gleefully back in the day. That was when I was younger and had more energy. So I wouldn’t say we’re trying to paint ourselves into a corner with this [atomic bomb]. Definitely not.”

This is a nod towards a plot development Gilligan and his team thought of during the final season of Breaking Bad. In the premiere episode, titled Live Free or Die, Walter White was seen in a new look, under the identity of Mr. Lambert, as he purchases a M60 machine gun at Albuquerque Denny’s. At the time, they had no idea where and when this plot development would actually come into play.

Season 2 will reportedly shift into a two-hander structure, focusing on Carol and Manousos as they investigate the origins of the alien signal and whether the Joining can be reversed. Executive producer Gordon Smith explained Carol’s mindset after the finale, saying: 

“I think she ran out of energy for a while, and [Zosia’s reveal in Big Sky] was, as much as anything, a wake-up call to her. That personal threat didn’t make her go, “Another personal threat? Now it’s serious.” It’s, “Oh God, these people are not the people I convinced myself that they could be. I have to see them a little more clear-eyed.” So the scales fell from her eyes a bit.”

As for the signal itself, Gilligan confirmed that Manousos’ radio experiments are not using the same transmission that initiated the invasion, hinting that a deeper and more powerful force remains unexplored. Other immune survivors introduced earlier in the season, including Koumba Diabaté and Laxmi, could also return as Carol’s mission expands beyond survival and toward resistance.

Pluribus season 2 is officially happening, and while the wait may be long, all signs point to a darker, more confrontational chapter that finally puts Carol’s fight back on the global stage.