Vince Gilligan is the master of the slow burn. Rewatching the showrunner’s debut now, one is startled to find that Breaking Bad (2008-2013) is rather dull until episode six, when chemist-turned-meth-kingpin Walter White nearly blows up a rival with a clump of fulminated mercury. Better Call Saul (2015-2022), in retrospect an even finer series, spends at least a season clearing its throat. That both shows are masterpieces by the end is hardly worth debating: Gilligan could lay down his pen tomorrow and retire as one of the three or four best television creators ever. Fortunately for viewers, the writer-director is doing no such thing, and his latest production bursts from the starting gate like a champion thoroughbred.

That show, the patriotically named Pluribus , is now streaming

See Full Page