TCA: AMC’s ‘Breaking Bad’ Creator On Possible Series Spinoff & ‘BB’s Ending
Ray Richmond contributes to Deadline’s TCA coverage.
Even as AMC sets to premiere the final eight episodes of its iconic drama series Breaking Bad beginning August 11, plans for a series spinoff starring Bob Odenkirk’s sleazy lawyer character Saul Goodman continue to move forward. Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan confirmed during an afternoon TCA session that it remains his “fervent wish” that there be a Goodman spinoff, adding the caveat that he speaks “for no one except maybe Bob and Peter Gould, the staff writer who created the character in season two.” Gilligan said he’s been working with Gould to shape what a Saul Goodman series would look like as well as perhaps a pilot script. But as of now, the potential show isn’t attached to either a production company or network, at least that Gilligan can divulge. “I speak for no company or professional entity when I say I really hope it happens,” he said. “It’s for powers bigger than me to figure out if it can come to fruition, but I’d very much like that to be the case.” Gilligan said a few weeks ago that he is working on nothing else in his post-Breaking Bad life except the potential Goodman series, which presumably would be an hour but could be a half-hour. Odenkirk, who was on the TCA panel along with Gilligan and castmates Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn and Betsy Brandt, seconded his boss’ hope about the show. “I would do it in a second,” he said. “I would do it because if Vince wrote it, it’s going to be awesome.”
Gilligan admitted earlier in the panel that he honestly couldn’t remember what his initial plan was for how Breaking Bad would wrap up. It’s often been cited that his sales pitch to AMC was crafting a drama that would “turn Mr. Chips into Scarface.” “I’m not trying to be glib here, but I honestly don’t remember what the original ending was,” he admitted. “Honest to God, except for the broad strokes, I forgot.” However, now that the conclusion has been shot, Gilligan is confident that viewers “are going to really dig” the way the series wraps. “I may be wrong, but I think it’s going to go over well.”
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