Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched the latest episode of Pluribus streaming via Apple TV subscription, so be warned!
So much of what audiences knew about the Others changed in drastic ways throughout the runtime of Pluribus’ sixth episode. We saw them engage in play-acting for Koumba’s James Bond cosplay, learned they have to used human corpses for sustenance, and also learned that their attempts to bring the remaining humans into The Joining have to get consensual responses for it to happen. It was a big one, and continued proving that Pluribus is possibly the least predictable show on the 2025 TV schedule.
The ep was a showcase for co-star Samba Schutte, whose still-human Koumba Diabaté is truly living his best life, taking full advantage of the Others’ aim of keeping the un-Joined survivors happy. He’s holed up inside the mega-grand Westin resort in Las Vegas and is truly living like a king, or like THE King, as he’s eating, drinking, and sexing it up in Elvis Presley’s former digs.
When Schutte talked to CinemaBlend about Koumba’s big ep, I had to ask about that hot tub scene, as well as the wildness of filming within such a lavish location, and he shared all the goods.
Samba Schutte Talks Getting To Film In Elvis' Former Suite
Just in case anyone thought that perhaps Pluribus' set designers broke the bank on fabricating such a massive space, the actor confirmed that it was all filmed on location within the actual hotel suite itself. As he put it:
It's an actual hotel. That's really the Westgate, and that's the suite where Elvis Presley actually stayed; it was then called the International. We didn't decorate anything; everything that's there was there. So to be surrounded by this gaudy opulence, and be surrounded by these amazing statues, and God knows what, it was just informing immediately who this guy is. Because we started with the Vegas episode; that's the first episode I filmed over number two. So stepping into those shoes and just stepping into that villa, I'm like, 'Oh, this is who this guy is.' It really helped inform me, like, 'Okay, this is the king. He's the king, and Carol's coming to spoil his party.'
For an actor, that scenario must have felt like the golden goose of opportunities, quite literally. (I didn't actually see any golden geese, but I'm sure they were there somewhere.)
On Filming That Wild Hot Tub Scene
Following that massive poker game performance, Koumba's next move was to take a dip in the hot tub with some of the more attractive and voluptuous Others around. And he's not a picky person, either, as evidenced by his willingness to welcome the older women into the tub fun as well. Of course, it all fell apart before it could go anywhere truly salacious, as Carol's arrival was imminent.
When I asked Samba Schutte about it, he immediately had me laughing with his pinch-me reaction. As he put it:
I don't know about you, Nick, but I've never, ever been surrounded by supermodels, let alone ever been in a hot tub with six naked women in my life. So to read that in the script, I was like, 'No! How is this gonna work?!' We had a beautiful intimacy coordinator, Christine, who just called me and told me, 'Just calm down. It's okay. Everyone's gonna be super respectful.' That's the first time I met the models who were going to be my entourage, so literally, it was like, 'Hi, this is my birthday suit. Nice to meet you.' We only did maybe four or five takes, but everyone relaxed once we knew how safe we were.
I can't say I've ever had a day of work that was even passively comparable. CinemaBlend doesn't even have a dedicated hot tub to test out such scenarios. Perhaps if there was some kind of an alien invasion...
In any case, the Our Flag Means Death vet shared that as shocking and out-of-the-box as it was, everyone was soon able to get more relaxed with by getting all of the initial nervousness and giggling out of the way, though that's essentially how the characters react to each other during that sequence anyway.
I asked Schutte if there was any complex choreography that went into having the women exit the tub in such a way where their naughty bits were blocked by bubbles and other people, Austin Powers-style. In his words:
Yes, we kind of rehearsed how they're going to exit and how we're going to go in there. But also, the first time meeting somebody, you know, and you're completely nude in the hot tub is such a weird thing, but I think finding the humor in it just helped us all relax, and after that, we completely bonded. That's why we have all this great chemistry on- and off-screen.
Just as much as walking into Elvis' former suite helped inform Schutte of Koumba's character, so did his willingness to put his sexualized fantasies out in the open, given that nearly everyone else in the world is an Other and thus wouldn't be individually judgmental. He continued:
It was just such a weird thing to read in the script...but to shoot it was much more respectful and much more down to earth than it actually seemed. . . . But I love that Kumba is not afraid to just dip his toes, literally and figuratively, into anything just to experience whatever fantasy he has. And I love that about the character: whether he's James Bond or the president of the world, he's not afraid to get everything he wants just to experience it. Because God knows how much time he has left.
I'm choosing NOT to read too much into that last sentiment, and will assume that Samba Schutte isn't tipping to any tragic outcomes for his character. Just the general sense of "live only for today."
Koumba's Elvis-esque Portraits Were Very Effective On Tourists
As if taking over the Elvis' former digs wasn't enough, Koumba also filled some of the hotel's walls (both inside and outside) with imagery of himself in all kinds of fancy and colorful outfits. To be the King, you have to look the part, after all. When I suggested that some of those shots should be released, he was hilariously aghast, saying:
No! That's the first thing that occurred to me when I got to Vegas. People were stopping me on the at the casino and would be like, 'Are you doing a show tonight?' I'm like, 'What are you talking about?' Then they pointed outside to these huge posters of me in Elvis outfits. I'm like, 'No!' So all over the place there were these posters and pictures and portraits of me, and it was just so intimidating to be faced with it.
Okay, so that scenario is actually a very convincing situation for why it's not ideal to have all that photography on display. At least from the ego's standpoint, in that it's not always easy for actors to see themselves in such ways. From a viewer perspective, though, it's downright hilarious that Pluribus' set dressing was so successful that people walking around in Las Vegas actually thought he was a performer.
While Samba Schutte had no inclination to take possession of any of the lovely blown-up photos from around the suite, he did share a great story about the fate of one such shot. (The one seen above, in fact.) In his words:
At the end of the day, production was like, 'Do you want to take them home?' I'm like, 'No, why? What am I gonna do with these?' So the one of me looking over the glasses in the bathroom is actually hanging in the costume department's bathroom at the production office over here. So that's great. It'll stop anyone from going number two. [Laughs.]
Bahaha. If that picture was on the side of every stall door in the bathroom, maybe. But if it's just on the outside? Barely an obstacle.
What will happen next for Koumba now that he's shared his big reveals with Carol? Will his hot tub party finally continue? Will it move instead to the outdoor pool? These are the questions we'll be torturing ourself with until we see the forever-smiling character again. I need 10 friends like Koumba in my life.
New episodes of Pluribus stream Fridays on Apple TV. If you lost your remote, we can send you a new one via drone by the time the 2026 TV premieres start up, Carol.
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