I’m a fan of what Vince Gilligan and his team of creatives do in television. I think no one else working in film or TV captures characters working through problems or ideas better than he does. For my money he asks for the right amount of suspension of disbelief to tell really satisfying, even pulpy tales.

On Apple TV, given what seems like a substantial budget, Gilligan has launched Pluribus. The first two episodes premiered last night. He has brought back Rhea Seehorn to star as Carol Sturka, a frustrated but successful creator of romance fantasy novels, who has a little bit of a dependency on alcohol. As in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, the action for her starts in Albuquerque, N.M. But instead of being a drama about crime and morality, Pluribus is a work of science fiction, whose first episode plays out like horror. By the end of the second episode, it’s clear that Carol, “the most miserable person on Earth,” as Apple TV describes her, must save humanity from nearly universal bliss and harmony.

Gilligan began his career writing and directing for The X-Files. This is a step toward the higher-concept episodes, or like an extended version of The Twilight Zone. I’m just thankful some entertainment executive still trusts creatives to launch new material.