AMC ‘Better Call Saul’ will not be what you thought it would be
When AMC first announced in Breaking Bad spinoff, Better Call Saul, it was announced as a prequel that will focus on the evolution of Saul Goodman character before Saul became Walter White‘s lawyer.
When we first meet Bob Odenkirk’s character, he’s actually known as Jimmy McGill, a small-time lawyer hustling to make ends meet and working with Mike.
Yesterday, producers answered TV critics’ questions about the sequel and announced that the show will bounce around in time.
Vince Gilligan announced: “I think the best way to answer this is that you saw, from Breaking Bad,we like nonlinear storytelling. I would definitely point you in the direction of anything that is possible on Breaking Bad is possible on Better Call Saul. It’s fun for us to be as nonlinear as possible.”
That said, the series will start the year 2002 and will continue until present day.
TV critics had major questions regarding the upcoming series and asked what they could expect out of the first season of ‘Better Call Saul’.
Gilligan and executive producer Peter Gould said they are now working on Episode 8 and have yet to bring anyone back. “We’re trying to make something that stands on its own, that has entertainment value not just as seeing a series of old favorites or “remember when” – not the series equivalent of a clip show,” Gould explained.
“We’re still feeling our way through this…figuring out if and when — when and if — to see some of these characters,” Gilligan added.
But don’t expect the show to be a carbon copy of “Breaking Bad“. “Peter came with an idea book of frame grabs from classic movies, like The Conformist, we talked a lot about Kubrick,” Gilligan said. “We’re doing our damndest to make it as different as possible. It’s important that this not look like a carbon copy of Breaking Bad.”
There’s a chance fan-favorite villain Gus Fring played by Giancarlo Esposito could return. “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.”
Deadline reports that the premiere date is set for 2015.
He said the delay in the new show’s premiere date– it’s now set for 2015 — was entirely a function of his being “slow as mud as a TV writer.” “We had a pace, thanks to AMC and Sony, on Breaking Bad that was deliciously stately for television,” he explained. “We averaged three weeks just for breaking episodes. Not a surprise to me, we’re doing same with Better Call Saul, and we feel that pays dividends. With Breaking Bad, people said that seemed to knit together pretty well. … So here we are again, doing same.”
Better Call Saul is described as a 50-50 collaboration with Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould but noted that “Peter created the Saul character” and will become even more involved as the series progresses.
The series regulars and their confirmed character names joining star Bob Odenkirk: Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad) as “fixer” Mike Erhmantraut, Michael McKean (This is Spinal Tap) as Chuck, Rhea Seehorn (Franklin & Bash) as Kim, Patrick Fabian (Grey’s Anatomy) as Hamlin and Michael Mando (Orphan Black) as Nacho.
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