Bob Odenkirk is a vastly underrated actor, well, that was until BREAKING BAD. I used to spend late nights watching MR. SHOW WITH BOB AND DAVID never knowing what fate had in-store for either Odenkirk or David Cross. Both are on exceptional shows in different genres. There’s a certain happiness that comes when you find out that Odenkirk’s character on BrBa, Saul Goodman is on the brink of getting his own spin-off series.
There’s a ton of untapped potential with a character like Goodman who works as a shady yet lovable and often winning criminal lawyer. He’s a crafty bastard– what could you expect from someone who has an office in a cheap strip mall? Think of the clients and potential situations he would get himself into. But as many have mentioned, can Goodman carry a show? Or is he better as a peripheral character? We should know soon enough since BREAKING BAD creator Vince Gilligan says that in terms of development “it’s full speed ahead on trying to get something going.” He also mentions that the fate of Goodman is still up in the air leaving us to wonder if the spin-off will be prequel or sequel.
Here’s the conversation Gilligan had with The Wrap:
The Wrap: Can you talk about the status of the possible spinoff?
Vince Gilligan: All my writers are wonderful writers. And they’re all ready to run their own shows. In this particular case, since Peter created the character, it felt more than right to be working with him on this, and we are plugging away coming up with a pitch and a take on it for the network and studio and hopefully everyone will agree that there’s a really fun show to be had here. And hopefully we’ll get it up and running, and then Peter will run it. I’d love to see that happen. It’s not a done deal yet, but it’s definitely something we’re full speed ahead on trying to get going.
The Wrap: Will it be a half hour or an hour?
VG: There’s a way to do both versions of the show. There’s a way to make it a half-hour show and make it a little more — I don’t want to say sitcom-y, but a little more traditionally half-hour comedic. Or there’s a way to do it where it fits more snuggly in with the “Breaking Bad” universe, in which it’s an hour-long show. As you can imagine with Saul Goodman as a character, a show like that would have to have plenty of humor to it. But also because he works for some pretty scary clientele sometimes, there’d be a bit of drama in it as well. We’re trying to nail that down. As of yet, we haven’t completely figured that out ourselves.
The Wrap: Any decision on whether it’s a prequel or the further adventures of Saul?
VG: Those are the two big questions we ask ourselves — is it a half hour or an hour, is it a prequel or a sequel? But having said that, I have to be coy as to whether it even could be a sequel. Because you never know, when the dust settles at the end of our final eight episodes, where everybody’s gonna be and who’s gonna be left standing. I can’t even say for sure that it could be a sequel. It may be, it may not.
What’s even more awesome? That we may be given the chance to get more Gus. Here’s hoping!