Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul co-creator Vince Gilligan is re-teaming up with Better Call Saul star Rhea Seehorn for a new drama series at Apple TV. Apple are so confident in the project that they’ve already given it a two-season order before a pilot has been shot.
Breaking Bad ran from 2008-2013 and became a cultural phenomenon, which has arguably only increased in the years since. It starred Bryan Cranston as a high school chemistry teacher who turns to crime (specifically, cooking meth) to fund his cancer treatments. It co-starred Aaron Paul as his former student turned partner-in-crime.
Better Call Saul is a Breaking Bad spin-off that ran from 2015-2022. It starred Bob Odenkirk as crooked lawyer Jimmy McGill and Rhea Seehorn as his fellow lawyer and lover Kim Wexler. Several other Breaking Bad cast-members, such as Jonathan Banks, Michael Mando, Giancarlo Esposito, and Mark Margolis also crossed over to the spin-off. Little is known about the new series, other than it being a “blended, grounded genre drama” according to Deadline.
Gilligan prompted a bidding war for his new show, with eight or nine streamers networks and streamers vying over the scripts. The budget is reportedly going to be in the $15 million per episode range, which is very high for a drama. Only some rarefied science fiction and high fantasy shows such as Rings of Power and The Mandalorian have slightly bigger budgets than this.
“After 15 years, I figured it was time to take a break from writing antiheroes… and who’s more heroic than the brilliant Rhea Seehorn? It’s long past time she had her own show, and I feel lucky to get to work on it with her,” said Gilligan. It is believed that the show will be a departure from the world of crime, including gangsters, violence, drugs and bent lawyers that Gilligan has been swimming in.
While we wait to find out more about the Gilligan and Seehorn drama series, check out our guide to everything new on Apple TV in October.