Rhea Seehorn Pluribus
In one of the streaming sensations that are thrilling viewers way beyond Hollywood, the starring role of Rhea Seehorn in the new Apple Tv+ series Pluribus has burst onto India social media, trending on websites such as X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Reddit. The genre-bending sci-fi drama is the brainchild of the Breaking Bad mastermind, Vince Gilligan, and it debuted the first two episodes on November 7 to break all records of the biggest global drama premiere in the history of Apple TV, with India being among the largest viewing markets alongside the US, UK or Brazil. With the release of Episode 4 today, viewers in Delhi to Chennai are already extolling the phenomenal acting of Seehorn as the wretched anti-heroine, Carol Sturka, and the show is already being turned into a cultural phenomenon outsourcing even Severance Season 2 in terms of buzz. But what is it that is making this frenzy in a nation that is already addicted to international thrillers? To cheap subscriptions and opportune topics of uniqueness in a hyper-connected world, this is why Pluribus and its star are all over in India.
In its essence, Pluribus is a dark comedy, a thought-provoking story about a deeply near-future New Mexico where a great wave of forced happiness has swept over the world, transforming billions of people into bizarrely happy hive creatures in a planet-wide hive mind. Seehorn portrays Carol Sturka, a very unhappy author and one of the few immune holdouts, who has to unravel the invasion and redeem humanity off its own contented ignorance. And what if you had a desire to save the world and the world looked back at you and said: Ehhh? In a promotional video, Seehorn was joking and this is the sense of the witty aspect of the show when it comes to high stakes of paranoia. In contrast to the gritty crime sagas of Gilligan, this nine-episode series is a mashup of zombie-apocalypse atmosphere and philosophical sci- © The 3 Body Problem and The Good Place with a sprinkling of Unity collective of Rick and Morty. The initial episodes lure the audience into the atmosphere of slow-burn tension: the isolation of Carol in the world of forced smiles, the use of cryptic hints in the form of everyday cheers, and the action scenes that reverse the tropes of the happy ending.
The show’s secret sauce? Its laser-pointed attention to Seehorn, who is getting universal acclaim as a funny and sad wonder. The star of Better Call Saul since Kim Wexler, Seehorn had been keeping the insane storyline confidential over three years of her life, only to serve as a revelation here. In a Variety interview, Gilligan raved about why it was worthwhile to make Rhea four seasons long, wedded to the idea that AI is a good idea, and Silicon Valley is the bane of the civilization it has ruined. The same sentiment is echoed by Indian critics and fans: Pluribus on Rotten Tomatoes has a rare 100% rating, based on 50+ reviews, with sources such as The Times of India declaring it a dramatic turn to get such excellence out of Seehorn, who is playing with her fatalistic roots. The subreddit r/television is filled with posts such as “‘Pluribus’ Gives a Magnificent Rhea Seehorn the Canvas She Deserves” in which members of Bengaluru and Hyderabad deconstruct her micro-body language of terror in the imposed Happy Weekend.
The trending storm in India began with the opening weekend, where Pluribus received the largest number of Apple TV drama minutes in its history, according to Nielsen Streaming Ratings – which was dominated by huge take-off in the subcontinent. Inexpensive pricing is a disrupter: Apple TV+ is only 99 a month, and the price includes Pluribus with binge-worthy offerings like Slow Horses, Silo and Netflix, and Disney+ Hotstar. In India, Apple TV costs 99 rupees- look at Pluribus, it is a good one. Rhea Seehorn ,” posted on November 12 in a tweet by Mumbai based user, @aalakx, which has since been retweeted hundreds of times and is the subject of Hindi, Tamil and Telugu threads. The X trends indicate that on November 20, the viral clips of Carol with his quippy one-liners (Happiness is overrated- pass the bourbon ) and the fans editing the scenes to music by AR Rahman made the difference between PluribusIndia climbing to No. 5 nationwide. The Bollywood stars are weighing in: Publicity outlets such as @bollywooddadi called her a sci-fi star whose fame had 100 percent critics on its side, and forums of Delhi foodies are joking of happiness waves that will wreck chai discussions.
Social media propagation has transformed the average viewers into evangelists. On November 21, Seehorn participated in an AMA on Reddit, under the name Carol Sturka, answering around 5,000 questions, many of them asked by Indian fans who asked her, in her hive-mind parallels to the social media echo chamber. The Indian questions were crazy–liked the ones on Diwali drones! she responded, which increased posts in subreddits such as r/Bollywood and r/IndianOTT. TikTok and Instagram Reels are burning with reaction videos: one 19-year-old Kolkata lip-syncing Carol rants videos has 2 million views, with the caption When your family makes you do group hugs but you are Team Grumpy Cat #PluribusVibes. The aged demographics are hooked too: WhatsApp aunties in Pune are copying episode summaries, combining Pluribus anti-utopian advantage with local evils of positive forcedness in unhealthy workplaces.
Pluribus would resonate with India, which is struggling with digital overload and stigma against mental health. The struggle of Carol to search genuine feeling reflects the burnout of the Gen Z towards the Instagram perfectionism and AI-inspired feeds. In a nation where the national motto is sab theek hai, the crass attitude of the misery in the show resonated as one of the Film Companion critiques. Gilligan has opportune jabs at tech overlords some of which are likening the hive mind to unchecked algorithms resonate with the current context of India where AI is thriving and startups in Bengaluru are being compared to the eerie joys of the show. Export buzz is also effective: With Apple looking to go Indian (its third biggest market), intensive marketing into Jio deals and regional dubs has dotted the timeline.
Momentum is not this show’s problem with the streaming of the fourth episode, the Please, Carol. Gilligan suggests possibility of a multi-season, and Seehorn has an increasing Golden Globe nomination on Gold Derby. Pluribus is not merely a binge to Indian viewers, it is a reflection of our world of wiring, and the silent intensity of Seehorn is reaching Albuquerque to Amritsar. As one X user put it up: “Rhea sparing us the felicitousness? Get me in–at last a hero to cheer up my blues on Monday. Pluribus is the raw breath of fresh (and smoggy) air that India had not made peace with before, in the ocean of formulaic thrillers.
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