Zombies have become a huge part of the entertainment industry in the last few years, with TV shows and movies adding a modern twist to the genre. A new show called Pluribus has recently been released, so could it change the industry by adding a philosophical edge that causes viewers to reflect more deeply on the subject?

The Rise of Zombies in Entertainment 

The first zombies on our screens appeared in 1932’s White Zombie, with Bela Lugosi playing a zombie master in Haiti who transforms his victims into zombified slaves. However, it was 1968’s The Night of the Living Dead that introduced the modern idea of flesh-eating zombies that contaminate others by biting them. This film by George A. Romero also brought in the idea that zombie movies could act as a critical look at modern society.

2010’s The Walking Dead kickstarted the recent zombie trend by carving out a new angle that shifts the focus onto the human side and how people get by in a post-apocalyptic setting. We’ve also seen the genre embrace comedy in Shaun of the Dead, while 2013’s Warm Bodies is a romantic comedy. 

As a key brand in the genre, The Walking Dead has several spin-offs across various media. The Walking Dead: Lucky Tap is listed among the instant win games on this bingo slots page. The franchise is also featured in slots such as The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: Cash Collect. These games add the show’s main characters as symbols while using the classic slots mechanism of spinning reels that can create winning lines to trigger bonus features.

How Does Pluribus Add to the Zombie Genre?

Apple TV recently released the first episodes of Pluribus, with a second season already ordered. It stars Rhea Seehorn, who plays Carol Sturka. The show was created by Vince Gilligan, who started as a scriptwriter for The X Files but is best known for creating Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

Virtually the entire human population has been contaminated by an alien virus that has seen them joined together into a hive mind, but Carol and a few others are immune to the virus.

She soon discovers that the hive mind mentality makes the rest of humanity happy and peaceful. However, she resists their calls for her to join them. A review of the first season points out that it has some funny moments, but is ultimately a bleak look at a possible reality, that makes us think about the world we live in.  

It’s described in other reviews as adding a philosophical edge to the zombie genre by making the living dead creatures nice and happy, with the uninfected person in this case being the awkward, unhappy character. It’s an interesting twist that certainly gives Pluribus a fresh feel to set it apart from other zombie shows and movies.

As we’ve seen, the zombie genre has typically involved a deeper look at society and human behaviour than might seem obvious at first sight. However, by adding something different to the plot, Pluribus may prove to be highly influential in changing the way we think about this type of show.  

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