When it comes to dystopian sci-fi, not many streaming platforms have produced the level of output Apple TV has in recent years.
On top of the breakout success of shows such as Slow Horses, Ted Lasso and The Morning Show, Apple TV has become renown for producing some of the boldest and most daring concepts in the TV landscape today.
Central to this success has been Dan Erickson’s Severance, who he developed the concept alongside director and producer Ben Stiller.
Starring Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro, and Patricia Arquette, the sci-fi psychological thriller explores a group of employees who undergo a surgical procedure to ‘sever’ their work memories from their personal lives.
But, following the recent release of Vince Gilligan’s Pluribus, starring Better Call Saul’s Rhea Seehorn, viewers have become locked in a fiery debate over which Apple TV series had the better first season.
Taking to Reddit, several fans shared their argument as to why each project was superior, with ipascoe arguing that the Breaking Bad creator’s return to television ‘instantly hooked’ them, while Severance ‘took a while’.
WelshIronman similarly felt that Pluribus ‘has a great hook, original story and [good] pacing’, while Superb-Act-3201 felt that Severance was ‘tough to get through
Other fans also seemed to feel that if Pluribus had not been made by Gilligan, then they ‘probably wouldn’t have tried watching it’ and may not have stuck with it.
Touching on this point, ivoiiovi argued: ‘If it wasn’t made by Vince Gilligan I doubt it would have anywhere near the audience or respect it has.’
What did Metro think of Pluribus?
Our TV reporter Milo Pope shared his thoughts on the series…
At 58 years of age, Vince Gilligan well and truly has nothing left to prove.
The American screenwriter and director, who first started out writing episodes on X-Files, boasts none other than Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul among his creations.
With those two juggernauts notched under his belt, he could very easily take a step back from the limelight and dine out on the fact that he has produced arguably two of the greatest series in the history of television.
But, to our benefit, Gilligan seems intent on cementing his legacy as one of the greatest living writers we have today with his new Apple TV series, Pluribus.
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But he did claim that ‘it is interesting’ and ‘I’m definitely invested in unravelling what it is really trying to say which I also still don’t wholly know about Severance.’
Incrementalmate also explained how there are ‘some really beautiful scenes and some good set pieces’ in Pluribus but overall it feels like one good idea stretched out to fill a whole season’.
Daganscribe69 backed this up by claiming: ‘Severance series one just got better and more intriguing with every episode.’
Recently, Metro asked its readers which series they ‘loved’ but gave upon as a result of filming delays, and a common answer in the comments section was Severance.
Commenting on the writing strikes that halted filming, Donald J Makin said on Facebook: ‘[Erickson] had a hard time getting a handle on the series being a success, and once he did he got to work.
‘[For] other series I would rather wait to get something good than a rushed second series as I know they’ve taken time to make great TV and not just rush into production.’
Meanwhile, following the release of Pluribus, which follows Carol (Seehorn), a pessimistic woman who must save the world from happiness when an alien virus spreads across humanity, fans hailed the show as the ‘best of 2025’.
Pluribus and Severance are available to watch on Apple TV.
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