With Friday's 2-episode AppleTV debut of "Pluribus," Vince Gilligan lands in the prime position of being able to do pretty much whatever he wants.

First, Gilligan, 58, scored with "Breaking Bad" and its spin-off "Better Call Saul." Now, he's decided, it was time to move on.

"I was ready to do something new," he began in a phone interview. "It's not that I was tired of 'Breaking Bad' or 'Better Call Saul' or that whole 'Breaking Bad' universe.

"I could have happily stayed in that for the rest of my career. And obviously all that stuff's going to be the first sentence of my obituary.

"But I had this sneaking suspicion that I should try something else. It was two-fold: I wanted to prove to myself I wasn't a one-trick pony.

"And also, the one downside of the 'Breaking Bad' universe is that you're running around an awful lot with just flat-out bad guys. As interesting as Walter White is and Saul Goodman and all, they're pretty dark.

"I was ready to write something a little more hopeful. Or at least center a story on a character who is at least trying to make the world a better place. Instead of trying to score a container full of cash."

"Pluribus" presents a not-so-distant future where everything has changed. Millions have died. And the survivors? They are all happy.

Except for one: Rhea Seehorn's Carol Sturka, a bestselling fantasy author.

Should we see this for its political implications?

"I'm pretty apolitical," Gilligan answered. "I have opinions, just like every other adult does.

"But with 'Pluribus,' when you present a world of happy people who all get along, is that a statement on America now? If you're hoping for an antidote to the way America is now, it really wasn't intended that way.

"But I have to say, I wish for a little Pluribus in the United States right now. Just a little.

"I wouldn't go full Pluribus -- because I don't want to live in a world where everybody is connected and there is no individuality. That's not the American way.

"That's not the human way. It's wonderful when we can differentiate ourselves as individuals and feel unique. But in the United States, it feels like right now, we've got two sides at each other's throats all the time.

"And I really think there are people of goodwill on both sides. And something they all have in common on both ends of the spectrum, is that they don't want to live in a world where everybody's on the precipice of civil war.

"It sounds simplistic. I think, maybe, people just want to get along."