One of the greatest scripted shows in TV history, Breaking Bad, ended it’s historic five-year run last year. Fans mourned and then turned their frowns upside-down when it was announced that AMC was working on a spin-off show. This new incarnation was said to have a different feel and would star Breaking Bad‘s slimy, yet effective lawyer Saul Goodman, with Bob Odenkirk reprising his role.

Without going into spoilers, Breaking Bad ended pretty conclusively. Saul Goodman’s story could continue, but it seemed that all the real “fun” in his life was behind him. And that is exactly where show-runners Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan intend to to take the story according to EW, to the  year 2002. In 2002, he wasn’t even known as Saul Goodman. He was known at this point in his life as Jimmy McGill. It is also revealed that this takes place six years before Saul meets Walter White, which would effectively place Breaking Bad‘s events in the year 2008 onward.

However, the time period does not rule out seeing guest stars, such as Bryan Cranston or Aaron Paul showing up. Breaking Bad was often told in a non-linear fashion, jumping ahead and into the past, to create tension and give viewers that extra bit of information the characters might not have. According to Gilligan this technique will indeed show up again in Better Call Saul.

Johnathan Banks will be back reprising his role as Mike and there is another character from the Breaking Bad world that seems logical to appear at some point. That is the drug lord, Gus Fring, played by Giancarlo Esposito. Gilligan and Gould had this to say about his potential reprisal:

“There’s always a chance, yeah,” Gilligan said. Added Gould: “These are all characters we love and with Gus there is so much more to say about that character, and we certainly love Giancarlo. Having said that, we’re trying to make something that stands on its own that has an entertainment value that’s not just seeing a series of old favorites. It’s not the series equivalent of a clip show. So we try to balance these things out. But I agree there’s so much to be said about Gus — although in the series it always seemed to me that Saul didn’t know Gus directly. He knew a guy who knew a guy.”

Reading between the lines, it seems that the creators want the spin-off to be able to stand on its own before adding too many cameos. That approach makes sense since Saul will no longer be a supporting character, but the main focus of the show. Audiences will need to get a deeper understanding of his character and what truly makes him click, or the show will collapse. What worked with Breaking Bad wasn’t clever MacGuyver action sequences or guest actors. It was the exploration of these flawed characters, making flawed decisions in their relationships. It seems that Better Call Saul is off on the right foot.

Better Call Saul will debut on AMC in 2015. How excited are you for this? Will you be tuning in weekly? Or waiting for it on Netflix to binge watch like you did Breaking Bad?

 

Source: Entertainment Weekly