You probably missed out this surprise Albuquerque cameo in ‘Pluribus’ Episode 4 but we got you
The latest episode of Vince Gilligan's sci-fi show 'Pluribus' recently aired on Apple TV+ and was titled 'Please, Carol'. Apart from further establishing the hive mind's omnipresence across a new world order, the most recent episode also saw Carol and the others picking up the pieces following the devastating grenade explosion at Carol's residence. However, a significant highlight of the episode was a surprise cameo appearance by someone unexpected from Albuquerque itself.
Although it belongs to a completely different genre, the Rhea Seehorn-led 'Pluribus' bears a certain resemblance to Gilligan's previous and immensely popular works, i.e., 'Breaking Bad' and 'Better Call Saul'. As all three of them are set against the backdrop of Albuquerque, New Mexico, it is only natural that elements from one would seep into the other. The fourth episode of the Apple TV+ show comprised one such element. Wading through the fallout of her almost fatal decision to detonate a hand grenade in the previous episode, Carol returns home, only to find out that the mess hitherto created by the explosion was being diligently cleaned up by hive mind volunteers.
Among the volunteers, Carol spotted one particular individual who turned out to be the former mayor of Albuquerque. Apparently, he didn't have much to do with his time now, as the collective consciousness had rendered elected government officials obsolete. He thanked Carol on account of voting for him. The interesting thing to note in this regard is that the mayor isn't played by an extra on set, and instead the real-life current mayor of the city, i.e., Mayor Tim Keller. The end credits of the episode list him as 'Mayor Tim'.
Keller has a long career in public service and was a member of the New Mexico Senate between 2009 and 2015, following it up with his stint as the New Mexico state auditor from 2015 through 2017. He has been serving as the mayor since 2017. He is running for office once again this year, and his cameo appearance is supposed to provide him with electoral mileage. This goes on to establish the relevance Gilligan's works have in the superstructure of the city.
Gilligan has led a long and fruitful collaboration with Albuquerque city officials. His first foray to the picturesque city was before kickstarting production on 'Breaking Bad', when the team happened upon the state's tax concessions instead of the initially decided locations in the state of California. The city of Albuquerque has immensely benefited from the productions of shows created by Gilligan, as, according to a report by SlashFilm, it was estimated back in 2014 that the show had led to the collection of $70 million in revenue for the city. 'Pluribus' airs new episodes every Friday on Apple TV+.
