SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for the first two episodes of “ Pluribus ,” streaming now on Apple TV.

Vince Gilligan is in the library at Variety ’s New York office, surrounded by tens of thousands of newspaper and magazine archives dating back to 1905. He’s reading from a thick, brown book stamped JANUARY 2008, wherein lies this publication’s first review of “Breaking Bad.”

“Vince Gilligan brings a quirky sensibility to the pilot, and the show grows increasingly rich and absorbing in the second and third hours,” he recites. “Whether ‘Breaking Bad’ can ignite to become more than TV’s version of a little-seen indie film, however, could be an elusive formula.”

Hovering over his shoulder, Rhea Seehorn bursts into laughter.

Not only did “Breaking Bad” earn four more

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