Here’s a thought: what if you were the only miserable person on Earth stuck with a huge population of happy people? Like, literally? The creator of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and some of the better X-Files episodes back in the 90s made a 9-episode limited TV show about that premise, but with a sci-fi twist.

Going back to his roots, Vince Gilligan has created a new series to channel that scifi itch he’s been meaning to pen since wrapping up Better Call Saul. And it’s a heckuva dystopian-esque premise. In an undisclosed present period, a bunch of “space waves” has hit Earth with a virus that turns its victim happy and content -happy zombies in this context. And it spreads so bad that nearly the entire world is affected. However, the “virus” makes everyone share those affected as one mind -memories, thoughts, and so forth. Referred to as “the Joining” by the shared hivemind, kind of creepy all the same, though not without their uses. See, the hivemind can get a number of happy zombies to do all sorts of tasks together, from filling up a supermarket to flying a plane safely. And there’s no crime, since convicts are all happy zombies too (or dead).

Except for Carol (Rhea Seehorn), a writer of women’s romance novels, who is still her miserable self as established in the first half of episode 1. Takes no crap, speaks her mind, but tempered by her lover Helen. However, after some bad things here and there, Carol has to cope with the fact that she is truly alone and is determined to solve the current problem. Naturally, a ton of complications pop up: the happy zombies hivemind are just as in the dark as Carol but are better at understanding the situation. Carol has trust issues with the entities, though the latter do their best to pacify her by sending in a representative named Zosia who looks like Carol’s type. And even if there were others not affected, would they turn down such an accommodating situation, since the happy zombies are all too eager to please those who aren’t, beck and call like an armada of butlers and waiters? And all circulating in the town of New Mexico where Carol resides (and where Vince and his crew are from and makes shows better at).

One part drama, one part black comedy (Carol struggling with how nice people are equals comedy gold), all parts unique: Vince Gilligan may have another home run on his and his team’s hands. Rhea Seehorn’s one-woman(ish) performance and carrying the whole show with her embittered determination is captivating and enthralling, full of great moments that balance levity and dystopian coming-of-ageness. While the main character is miserable in her plight, I’m definitely not when it comes to watching this fine-as-heck television show from the Breaking Bad creator.

Final Score: 90/100

First six episodes provided by Apple for review. Pluribus’ first two episodes are out now on Apple TV.