Better Call Saul! - Breaking Bad Spinoff A Go At AMC

[Sawyer]

http://www.deadline.com/2013/09/breaking-bad-saul-goodman-spinoff-amc-series/

‘Breaking Bad’ Saul Goodman Spinoff A Go At AMC, Will Serve As Prequel To Original
By NELLIE ANDREEVA

Breaking Bad‘s Saul Goodman will live on at AMC. After lengthy negotiations, the cable network and Breaking Bad producer Sony Pictures TV have reached a licensing agreement for a spinoff from Vince Gilligan‘s acclaimed drama series. The spinoff series, tentatively titled Better Call Saul, had been in the works for months. It centers on one of Breaking Bad‘s most recognizable supporting characters, Bob Odenkirk‘s unflappable criminal lawyer Saul Goodman. Conceived by Breaking Bad creator Gilligan and series writer-producer Peter Gould, who created the Saul character together for a Season 2 episode written by Gould, the spinoff will be be a one-hour prequel that will focus on the evolution of the Goodman character before he ever became Walter White’s lawyer, AMC said. The network wouldn’t elaborate on the project’s status, but I’ve learned Better Call Saul has a series order pending the complication of Sony TV’s deals with Gilligan, Gould and Odenkirk. The pact between AMC and Sony TV came after talks between the two sides came down to the wire, with other outlets, including Netflix, which has had huge success with Breaking Bad, very interested in snatching the spinoff series.

The title of the spinoff comes from the original Saul episode of Breaking Bad, titled “Better Call Saul”, in which Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) hire the flamboyant Goodman after Badger (Matt L. Jones) is caught by the DEA. Goodman, who has been a regular presence on the show since, is a sleazy but highly competent criminal lawyer with a penchant for over-the-top TV commercials in which he uses his signature tagline “Better Call Saul!” Saul has served as Breaking Bad‘s comic relief, which is not surprising given Odenkirk’s strong comedy background. While houlong, the spinoff is expected to be be far less dark than the original series, with more comedy infused into it.

Gilligan has been high on the idea for over a year. “I would love to see a Saul Goodman spinoff,” he said in a July 2012 interview. “I like the idea of a lawyer show in which the main lawyer will do anything it takes to stay out of a court of law. He’ll settle on the courthouse steps, whatever it takes to stay out of the courtroom. That would be fun — I would like that.”

 

[terry78]

Yes sir.

 

[Mister J]

Excellent. [/Burns]

 

[O'Haire]

This makes me happy mainly because we will be getting more Huell.

*edit*

Damn I forgot Huell wasn't hired until later on. Oh well. Still gonna be awesome.

 

[georgec]

This has potential.

 

[FailureByDesign]

Forgive me, but is this just a stand alone hour then? I was under impression was a series.

 

[Sawyer]

Well...

The network wouldn’t elaborate on the project’s status, but I’ve learned Better Call Saul has a series order pending the complication of Sony TV’s deals with Gilligan, Gould and Odenkirk.

 

[StarLord]

Forgive me, but is this just a stand alone hour then? I was under impression was a series.

Nope, the length of the show is one hour (well, take away time for commercials, so probably same length as BB).

 

[Dr. Manhatten]

I believe it's a series order and will be an hour long show, not a half hour sitcom.

It would be really cool if after a few seasons, should Saul survive, they jump ahead to what happens after BB ends

 

[Hyde]

Sounds awesome.

 

[terry78]

I'm starting to see why they weren't all broke up about The Killing.

 

[Soapy]

I've said before that I'm very skeptical of giving Saul his own show, as I feel characters like that are best in small doses, but I'm more than willing to give it a chance.

 

[Sawyer]

I think we can all agree that the series needs to open with Saul walking in on his second wife banging his stepdad.

 

[Piper Maru]

Better Call Saul! My body is ready.

 

[kguillou]

This could be very interesting. Im wondering if this is going to be more of a comedy than the serious drama BB was.

 

[georgec]

They need a laugh track.

 

[Lord]

Doubt it will be half as good as Breaking Bad, but i'll definitelly take a look.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

Will he convince a woman he is Kevin Costner?!

 

[Piper Maru]

Does this mean we get to see more of his colorful wardrobe? Right on!

 

[ThePhantasm]

I've said before that I'm very skeptical of giving Saul his own show, as I feel characters like that are best in small doses, but I'm more than willing to give it a chance.

I agree with this. I'm skeptical about spin-offs of this kind. But we'll see.

 

[terry78]

See, I think we may get something like a Frasier or a Trapper John or something along that line. I suspect Saul wasn't always as wacky as he is now.

 

[PWN3R]

I really can't see this lasting, but what the **** do I know? If Gilligan and Odenkirk think it's a good idea, then they know they have something.

Can't wait.

 

[jacobed]

Normally I'd say.eh dumb idea but Gilligan is behind this so ugh hell yes

 

[Sawyer]

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/09/11/breaking-bad-spin-off-bob-odenkirk-better-call-saul/

'Breaking Bad': Bob Odenkirk, co-executive producer Peter Gould on Saul Goodman spin-off
By Dan Snierson

Breaking Bad will wrap up its story at the end of the month, but not every character’s journey is coming to an end. AMC is indeed moving forward with that spin-off series featuring Bob Odenkirk’s unscrupulous attorney Saul Goodman, who has served as the crime drama’s comic relief and adviser to our meth kingpin Walter White (Bryan Cranston) since season 2. (The network and Sony Pictures Television, the show’s studio, announced earlier today that they had reached a licensing agreement for a prequel that will track the “evolution of Saul” before he met Walt; a series order is expected to follow when contracts are signed.)

Though Odenkirk and the creative team aren’t commenting yet, Breaking Bad co-executive producer Peter Gould — who concocted the character of Saul and is creating the tentatively titled Better Call Saul with Breaking Bad overlord Vince Gilligan — told EW last week that he and Gilligan were looking forward to subverting the audience’s expectations for this hour-long spin-off. “We’re using the kind of storytelling that we did on Breaking Bad but in a really new way,” he says, cautioning that it’s still a work in progress. “When people think of a Saul Goodman spin-off, they tend to think in terms of a laugh-a-minute comedy, and we’re going for something that has a very very unique tone. To play with a main character who has the unique morality that Saul Goodman does is going to be in its own way as much of an experiment as Breaking Bad was.”

What was it about Goodman that prompted Gould and Gilligan to build a show around this fan favorite? “He’s not a character I’ve seen before,” says Gould. “So much of Breaking Bad is about playing out ideas of morality and how you live in the world, and this is a guy who has a philosophy which is internally consistent but is also kind of strange. In addition to the fact that he always amuses us and we’re always ready to see more, the guy is a problem solver. He solves problems in his own way. He’s just as innovative as Walt is, so that really gives us a lot of stories and a lot of places to go with him.” (And given that this series is a prequel, it leaves open the possibility that Goodman — like any of the show’s characters — might not make it out of Bad alive.)

How does the man of the new hour, Odenkirk, feel about Better Call Saul? He calls himself extremely lucky, for starters. “It’s kind of like somebody asking you, ‘Would you like me to give you a winning lottery ticket?’” he gushed a few weeks ago during an interview for EW’s Breaking Bad cover story. “’Well, yeah! I mean, we both know it’s a winner, right? Sure, I’ll take that!’ … [Playing Saul has] been the greatest fun challenge of my life and I want to do that again. I’ll be thrilled if I get to do it.”

The fifth and final season of Breaking Bad concludes Sept. 29 on AMC.

 

[Sawyer]

I really want a blink-and-you-miss-it Cranston cameo at some point. Use his early season one look like they did at the beginning of last night's episode.