Now that Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul is over, focus has diverted to what series creator Vince Gilligan is going to do next. It turns out he’s making the move to Apple TV Plus, with the streaming service ordering two seasons of his next show — and Better Call Saul star Rhea Seehorn (Kim Wexler) is set to take the lead role.
This news comes from Deadline, which reports that the new show is a “blended, grounded genre drama." So those of you expecting Kim to get her own spin-off in the Breaking Bad universe are going to be sorely disappointed. But based on Gilligan’s track record (The Lone Gunmen aside), there’s plenty to be excited about here.
For starters Seehorn nailed the role of Kim Wexler, the lawyer slash would-be conwoman and partner in crime to Jimmy McGill before he turned into Saul Goodman. The second is that a guarantee of two seasons means we won’t be getting invested in a show that’s abruptly canceled — something we pray doesn’t happen to Netflix’s The Sandman.
Deadline notes that Gilligan’s next project was very much in demand, with 8-9 networks reportedly lined up to hear about it. Which is no surprise given how much of a success both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul were.
The site also notes that the project was looking for a series order (as opposed to a pilot), and a budget of around $13.5 to $15 million per episode. Apple is said to have “showed great enthusiasm” and “pursued it aggressively," Looks like that paid off for tech giant's streaming arm.
Don’t expect the new show to be anything like Gilligan’s last two offerings, which were rife with drugs and crime. The new show has been likened to both the Twilight Zone and The X-Files, a series Gilligan was heavily involved in. According to a Deadline report from last month, the show “harkens back to Gilligan’s tenure on The X-Files," but will not be a sci-fi drama.
Instead the show will be “set in our world while putting a tweak on it, focusing on people and exploring the human condition in an unexpected, surprising way.” Other descriptions proclaim the show will be “thought-provoking but not a morality tale,” and “exploring similar themes of bending reality while holding a mirror to humanity.”
Unlike The Twilight Zone, this show is not expected to be an anthology, and instead it will have an overarching story. It's also not clear when it will arrive, or even what it’s going to be called. Only that Gilligan is said to be the showrunner, and Sony Pictures Television will once again be responsible for actually making the show. So watch this space, and we’ll bring you more news as we hear it.
