Before ‘Pluribus‘ became Vince Gilligan’s latest sci-fi project, he had already tried telling a virus story years ago, and most people don’t even know it exists. It was an earlier TV pilot, never aired, that dealt with an outbreak, police work, and strange situations Gilligan has always been interested in.
That abandoned pilot followed a very ‘X-Files‘-style setup, long before ‘Pluribus‘ was even a thought. Looking back, it feels less like a random failure and more like an early version of ideas Gilligan clearly wasn’t done with.
The Virus Pilot Vince Gilligan Made Before ‘Pluribus’
Gilligan spent a big part of his early career writing for ‘X-Files‘, starting in season two and staying until the original run ended in 2002. So when he later tried to create his own shows, it made sense that his ideas still had that mix of science fiction and investigation. After ‘X-Files‘ ended, Gilligan went through a tough period where getting new shows approved wasn’t easy.
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During that time, he co-wrote a pilot called ‘A.M.P.E.D.‘ with fellow ‘X-Files‘ writer Frank Spotnitz. Spike TV produced the pilot in 2007, but the network chose not to pick it up, and it never aired. Gilligan has talked about A.M.P.E.D. since then, and he’s pretty open about how he feels. While promoting Pluribus, he explained that the show was about police officers dealing with an epidemic.
What Made ‘A.M.P.E.D.’ An ‘X-Files’-Style Show
Gilligan described it as a crime drama mixed with science fiction, saying it felt like “a Michael Mann show crossed with The X-Files.” He also added that he thought it deserved a full series. ‘A.M.P.E.D.‘ stuck closely to a police procedural format. The story was set in Minneapolis and followed two detectives working together as a strange virus spread through the city.
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Lee Tergesen and Tony Curran played Detectives Brian Spicer and Mark Jacocks, written as very different personalities who had to rely on each other. The virus itself caused obvious physical changes. Based on reports from the time and on parts of the script later shared online, infected people developed features such as unusual skin or eye colors.
These changes also made them violent. That meant the detectives weren’t just solving crimes; they were dealing with a growing public threat. The concept is pretty similar to the basic idea of the ‘X-Files‘. Regular investigators were trying to handle something far bigger than normal crime.
The virus itself caused visible physical changes. According to reports from the time and parts of the script later shared online, infected people developed genetic mutations, such as unusual skin or eye colors. These changes also made them violent. The overall setup of A.M.P.E.D. closely matched what audiences had seen on ‘The X-Files‘. That strong connection to The X-Files was both its strength and its weakness. While it clearly fit Gilligan’s experience, the familiar format may have made networks hesitant to commit.
