Whatever happened to the model of TV shows releasing every year? Back in the mid-noughties, we'd get 24 episodes of Desperate Housewives, Lost, or The Office, while even smaller affairs like Mad Men and The Sopranos would give us a binge-worthy 13 episodes without having to wait years to find out what happened next.
That all changed with the Netflix model, although everything from HBO's Game of Thrones to AMC's The Walking Dead can also be blamed for achingly long waits between seasons. We're finally nearly at the end of Stranger Things, but despite only producing 42 episodes across its giant run, it's taken nearly a decade to get there.
Things are more obvious when you have a younger cast that ages at a rapid rate, and even with Lost, it decided to write out Malcolm David Kelley's Walt because he was getting too old to portray a 10-year-old kid.
While Apple TV doesn't have that problem with Pluribus, we might be waiting a while before we catch up with the ever-grouchy Carol Sturka on our TV screens. Having starred as Kim Wexler in Better Call Saul, Rhea Seehorn took on a much bigger role for Vince Gilligan's next show.
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With the world apparently infected by some sort of alien hive mind virus, Seehorn's Sturka is one of only a handful of people who remain unaffected – tasking herself with 'saving' the world from happiness.
Despite Gilligan having grand plans that could see Pluribus' arc span three seasons, it doesn't sound like we'll have to worry about it bowing out anytime soon. Even though it's good news that the creator already has a supposed ending in mind, that's likely a long way away, thanks to Apple TV updating us on the status of season 2.
Pluribus season 1 is currently in the final furlong of its nine-episode run, which is already longer than Breaking Bad's seven-episode freshman season. Still, Forbes reports that there's no immediate sign of season 2 suddenly getting a surprise drop in 2026.
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Even though Pluribus was renewed shortly after it debuted, and a writers' room was assembled in November ahead of a potential 'spring 2026' filming date, that puts a season 2 release in the far-off distance.
The outlet notes that season 1 commenced filming in February 2024 and didn't air until November 2025. 21 months for filming and post-production is especially long, although we need to take into account that this came in the aftermath of the 2023 industry strikes.
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If (and it's an if) Pluribus starts filming in March 2026 as an 'early' spring production, the same cycle likely wouldn't see it released until December 2027. That's on the optimistic side, meaning that Carol might not return to early 2028...at the earliest.
It's not clear why Pluribus is such a beast to film, but we've got a feeling that it's a similar story to Apple TV's other big hit, Severance.
Pluribus reportedly costs $15 million an episode compared to Severance season 2's $20 million per episode, and looking at the gap between seasons of Dan Erickson's sci-fi PSYOP, we should settle in for a long wait until Pluribus invites us back to the hive mind.
As Forbes concludes: "We are a long way from five seasons and 64 episodes of Breaking Bad in five years."