Before Pluribus, Vince Gilligan Created an X-Files-Style TV Pilot About a Virus

If there’s one TV show that “Breaking Bad” is most often compared to, it’s “The Sopranos.” Both blend crime drama and dark comedy, feature an anti-hero who is a suburban dad and a crime boss, and are in fierce competition for the title of “best TV series of all time.” Bryan Cranston bluntly stated: “Without Tony Soprano, there is no Walter White.”

But while “The Sopranos” may be the biggest stylistic influence on “Breaking Bad,” there’s another series even more essential to its existence: “The X-Files.” Vince Gilligan, creator of “Breaking Bad”, made his scriptwriting a science fiction procedural basis. He joined in season 2 and wrote several episodes until the end of the original series; curiously, one of Gilligan’s “X-Files” episodes even featured Cranston. That connection, coupled with Gilligan’s experience in the “X-Files” writers’ room, forms the foundation on which “Breaking Bad” was built.

Gilligan’s latest series, Apple TV hit ‘Pluribus’ moves away from ‘Breaking Bad’ and takes it back to its sci-fi roots. But he almost went back early. After “The X-Files” ended in 2002, Gilligan faced an uphill battle launching “Breaking Bad.” One of the shows he tried, and failed, to start during this time was called “AMPED.” Co-written by Gilligan and his “X-Files” colleague Frank Spotnitz, “AMPED” was produced for Spike TV in 2007, but ultimately the pilot was not picked up and did not air.

If the show is only a distant memory, Gilligan spoke about it during the “Pluribus” press tour with the AV Club:

“[‘A.M.P.E.D.’] it was about an epidemic that transformed people into various things, so it wasn’t like “Pluribus” per se. It was more about a cop show and how a homicide and robbery division handled the problem. It was like a Michael Mann show mixed with “X-Files.” This should have been taken up. »

Good luck searching for the “AMPED” driver online, but there are still few contemporary reports of the production. The series would have been set in Minneapolis and feature two partner detectives. Actors Lee Tergesen and Tony Curran were thrown away as co-leads are detectives Brian Spicer and Mark Jacocks, who resemble the good and bad cops of the duo, respectively.

While “Pluribus” also explores an extraordinary virus, the effects are the exact opposite of that of “AMPED.” According to a press synopsis and extracts from the pilot scenario (preserved on The Tergesen site), the virus would have induced genetic mutations, such as discoloration of the skin and/or eyes, and would make those affected become destructive.

The “Pluribus” virus causes no physical changes, but mentally it transforms the infected into a blissful hive mind. Rather than making people aggressive like the virus in “AMPED”, the “Pluribus” virus makes them overly friendly and eager to please. Gilligan acknowledged these differences in his interview with AV Club, where he also explained how he created “Pluribus:”

“I was thinking of a character about eight or nine years ago. I was thinking of a guy who, all of a sudden, the world is very nice to him, and they love him. He hasn’t done anything particularly to deserve it, but they love this guy. They’ll do anything for him, anything.”

Gilligan sat on the idea and, looking for an excuse to working again with Rhea Seehorn after “Better Call Saul”, he changed the main character to a woman. “AMPED” sounds intriguing, but the setup of normal detectives investigating the supernatural is very reminiscent of “The X-Files.” “Breaking Bad,” and now “Pluribus,” have allowed Gilligan to expand his writing talents with bold new premises.