Apple TV’s Best New Sci-Fi Show Is Officially Not Returning In 2027

Published Nov 5, 2026, 6:30 PM EST

As Classic TV Editor at Screen Rant, Guy specializes in leading features content about shows from decades gone by. Having written for and edited several TV, film and music publications, his areas of expertise include comedy, crime, historical drama, Westerns, and political thrillers.

Few other streamers even come close to Apple TV’s science fiction catalog, so it’s quite the feat when a new sci-fi show on the platform marks itself out as a work of unique brilliance. That’s exactly what happened last November, when a mind-bending masterpiece like nothing we’d seen before arrived on our screens for the first time.

This series is surely the best new arrival on Apple TV in any genre since Severance’s first season in 2022. From the moment it dropped, it’s been hailed as one of the outstanding sci-fi shows of the 2020s. The show has already developed a devoted fanbase, who’ve been waiting with bated breath for updates about its second season.

Given that it debuted in 2025, viewers are naturally expecting Vince Gilligan’s Pluribus to return in 2027, following the two-year production cycle that’s been typical of prestige TV dramas across the past decade, particularly when following up their first season. Yet, the latest news from producers has effectively confirmed that this dystopian psychological thriller won’t be back next year.

While it’s true that the Apple TV has other new and returning sci-fi masterpieces up its sleeve, Pluribus is one of the two shows in the genre that subscribers are most concerned with. The confirmation that its second season isn’t going to be released in 2027 comes as a major disappointment to millions.

Pluribus Is Apple TV’s Best New Sci-Fi Series Since Severance

Courtesy of Apple TV

When it premiered on Apple TV last November, Pluribus immediately broke an Apple TV record Severance had held for the previous three years, by achieving a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score for its first two episodes. A new sci-fi rivalry was born in an instant. Now, the team behind Severance can celebrate their third season having a clear run at 2027.

Pluribus season 2 is currently being filmed, which gives fans even more time to unpick its first season, and come up with their own speculative theories about what’s going to happen next. The show’s premise is ostensibly simple, yet opens a Pandora's box of mysterious implications as terrifying as they are complex.

Longtime Vince Gilligan collaborator Rhea Seehorn plays protagonist Carol Sturka, who is seemingly immune to an alien virus that merges the consciousness of almost everyone on Earth into a single hive mind. Carol must uncover the truth about the virus, partly by connecting with the handful of other humans who’ve also seemingly avoided its effects.

At the same time, she’s in a race against time, as the hive mind itself is looking for ways to ensnare her and the rest of the outsiders, absorbing them into its singular consciousness. This bizarre and deeply unsettling metaphor for herd mentality clearly draws on classic sci-fi shows like The Twilight Zone, The Prisoner, and The X-Files.

It’s little wonder, then, that it’s gone down a treat with fans of the genre and more casual viewers alike, with audiences spanning generations and cultures. Pluribus is one of the TV sci-fi events of the century so far, which is why we’re waiting with bated breath for confirmation about the release window of its second season.

The Latest Pluribus Season 2 Update Effectively Confirms A 2028 Release

A fresh update on the release timeline of Pluribus season 2 has essentially confirmed the fears of those who were worried about the lack of news before now. Sci-Fi Spiral writer Ava Harper officially revealed on X that shooting for the season began on November 1. What’s more, filming is due to wrap on June 14, 2027.

We should then expect at least a year of post-production work on the new episodes, in line with the post-production schedule for Pluribus season 1. Taking this work into account, the most optimistic estimates predict a summer 2028 release for season 2. That feels like a long time away, especially in light of Rhea Seehorn’s tantalizing tease about episode 1 of this new Pluribus season.

It should be worth the wait, of course, but Apple TV and Vince Gilligan are certainly testing the patience of their audience with this schedule. Pluribus season 3 will be out two years in the next decade at this rate, and could well be one of the sci-fi events of the 2030s.

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  Carol Sturka

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  Karolina Wydra

  Zosia

Vince Gilligan's sci-fi series Pluribus stars Rhea Seahorn as Carol Sturka, one of the few remaining people on earth uninfected by a peculiar virus which has unified the rest of humanity into a collective hive mind.