‘Pluribus’ makes Emmy history after breaking ‘Better Call Saul’ streak
Apple TV’s sci-fi drama ‘Pluribus’ concluded its first Emmy season having won six awards. The series received 18 nominations, making it one of the most nominated freshman dramas. It secured a third of its bids in both the Creative Arts and the main Primetime Emmy Awards. First, the series saw success at the Creative Arts Emmys, which took place on September 5 and 6. ‘Pluribus’ received four wins out of 18 submissions. These wins were in the categories of Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music, Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program, Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series, and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series. Two of these wins, the main title theme and sound mixing, went to composer Dave Porter.
Next, Rhea Seehorn won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for playing Carol Sturka. She played a miserable romance novelist who somehow survived a mysterious global catastrophe that left the rest of the world blissfully unaware. The win marked Seehorn’s first Primetime Emmy, following two nominations for ‘Better Call Saul.’ In her acceptance speech, Seehorn said, “This is me on a beta blocker. It’s pretty bad. Thank you to the Television Academy so much, and all the members that voted… Thank you, Vince Gilligan for giving me not only the role of a lifetime, but for creating sets where we all get to collaborate, and we are actually made to feel safe to take risks so that we get better as artists.”
Finally, Vince Gilligan won Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for writing the episode ‘We Is Us.’ The win was particularly significant for Gilligan, as his previous series, ‘Better Call Saul,’ received 53 Emmy nominations but did not win a single award. ‘Pluribus’ surpassed that streak during its debut season. Despite the impressive list of wins, ‘Pluribus’ was unable to secure several Emmys it was hoping for. It lost out on the category of Outstanding Drama Series to ‘The Pitt’ and had two supporting acting nominations, Karolina Wydra and Carlos-Manuel Vesga, that did not win. In addition, Gilligan’s directorial effort for the episode ‘We Is Us’ was nominated for an Emmy but was ultimately beaten by Saul Metzstein’s work on ‘Slow Horses.’ Still, ‘Pluribus’ won six Emmys out of 18 nominations, a success rate most debut dramas would be envious of.
‘Pluribus’ premiered on Apple TV on November 7, 2025. The first season, consisting of nine episodes, was released every week until December 26. Apple ordered two seasons of the series, so the second season was confirmed right away when the first season premiered. Meanwhile, the production of the second season is happening at a slow pace. According to the actress Karolina Wydra, who spoke to ScreenRant in April 2026, the filming was set to begin “sometime in the fall.” According to Gilligan, who spoke to Forbes in August 2026, he and his team have finished outlining all episodes of Season 2. However, episode scripts still need to be written. Apple has yet to announce a premiere date for Season 2. Season 1 was filmed in February 2024 and premiered in November 2025. If we go by the same window, viewers could get Season 2 in late 2027 or early 2028.
