By Paul Salfen | AMFM Magazine
In a television landscape full of reboots and franchises, Vince Gilligan’s latest series PLURIBUS has arrived like a lightning bolt: a completely original show with the bonkers high-concept premise that the most miserable person on Earth is the only one who can save humanity from a forced, dystopian version of happiness. Critics and audiences have embraced it in a way few shows manage in 2025; within weeks of launch it became the #1 series across major platforms.
For composer Dave Porter — the musical voice behind Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, El Camino, and now PLURIBUS — this marks the first time in almost twenty years of collaborating with Gilligan that they’ve started from absolute zero.
“This is the first time since the pilot of Breaking Bad that we’ve really started from the ground, totally fresh, totally new universe, totally new everything,” Porter told AMFM Magazine in an exclusive conversation. “To have that opportunity is a blessing in and of itself. Then to have it be so well received these past few weeks has been truly gratifying.”
The music of PLURIBUS is unmistakably different from the desert-tinged minimalism fans associate with the Albuquerque universe. Porter has constructed an entirely new sonic world — one minute massive and suspenseful, the next slyly comedic — often pivoting on a dime to match the show’s unpredictable tone.
“The score has to change on a dime because the show takes so many unbelievable left turns,” he explains. “Episode one is big, huge, intense. Then we have moments that are some of the most overtly humorous and funny stuff we’ve ever done together. To navigate that tonal range while keeping it consistent enough that you always know you’re listening to the score for PLURIBUS — that’s been the biggest challenge and the thing I’m most proud of.”
A highlight of the process was bringing Vince Gilligan into Porter’s studio to hear the live orchestra and choir for the first time. “Seeing his eyes light up was definitely one of the highlights of my career,” Porter says with a smile you can hear over the phone.
When asked when he knew they had something special, Porter points to the final mix of episode one: “You sit down on the mix stage, you hear that final playback, and it just feels complete and whole. That was the moment where I was like, ‘Okay, we’re good now. Now we’re cooking with gas.’”
After two decades of NDAs and secrecy, Porter is it strange to finally talk openly about a Gilligan project? Porter laughs. “You work on it for so long and most of the time now with NDAs you can’t tell anybody anything. People ask, ‘What are you doing?’ and you’re like, ‘Uh… just working on stuff.’ So yeah, it’s really nice to have it out there and sharing it with the world.”
Porter’s own “Hail Mary” moment came at age 30, when he left a thriving New York career (that included time in Philip Glass’s studio) and drove cross-country to Los Angeles mere months after 9/11 to chase dramatic scoring. “I basically started over,” he remembers. “Los Angeles has been wonderful to me.”
His advice to aspiring composers is simple but profound: “There’s no tried-and-true path. Every successful composer I know got here a different way. It’s about timing, luck, and most importantly — being honest. Be honest in what you’re good at, be honest in your music, and always put the project first.”
With PLURIBUS already renewed and Porter confirming “we’ll definitely be back and swinging on season two before you know it,” the composer is riding high — though he teases a few other undisclosed projects “cooking in the fire” that he still can’t discuss.
One thing is certain: when Vince Gilligan and Dave Porter decide to take a big swing, the world listens — and right now, the world can’t stop talking about PLURIBUS.
PLURIBUS is streaming now on Apple TV+. Season 1 score by Dave Porter is available on all major music platforms.
