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Can Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul live up to expectations? Can Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul live up to expectations?
(about 17 hours later)
Are you worried the Breaking Bad spinoff won't be as good as the original? You're not alone. In fact, that's what its showrunner Vince Gilligan is thinking too. Speaking at the Hollywood Reporter's annual Drama Showrunner Roundtable, he admitted to high-powered peers, including Aaron Sorkin, Matthew Weiner and True Detective's Nic Pizzolatto, that's he worried about moving on to write Better Call Saul. Now that he's "deep into" the process, he says that being in the writers' room, and exploring the world of shady lawyer Saul Goodman "opens you up to a lot of fears – is this going to be Frasier or is this going to be AfterMASH?" Are you worried the Breaking Bad spinoff won't be as good as the original? You're not alone. In fact, that's what its showrunner Vince Gilligan is thinking too. Speaking at the Hollywood Reporter's annual Drama Showrunner Roundtable, he admitted to high-powered peers, including Aaron Sorkin, Matthew Weiner and True Detective's Nic Pizzolatto, that he's worried about moving on to write Better Call Saul. Now that he's "deep into" the process, he says that being in the writers' room, and exploring the world of shady lawyer Saul Goodman "opens you up to a lot of fears – is this going to be Frasier or is this going to be AfterMASH?"
"If it's AfterMASH rather than Frasier," he explained, "it won't be for a lack of hard work and wishful thinking and a lot of smart people doing their best, but you just don't know until the world takes it.""If it's AfterMASH rather than Frasier," he explained, "it won't be for a lack of hard work and wishful thinking and a lot of smart people doing their best, but you just don't know until the world takes it."
This is, of course, a "high-class problem", as Sorkin pointed out – one that's more like getting back on a horse after a successful ride than dusting yourself off after a disastrous fall. Breaking Bad's success has put Gilligan in the position where there's an audience that wants more from him but is also worried that it won't be as good.This is, of course, a "high-class problem", as Sorkin pointed out – one that's more like getting back on a horse after a successful ride than dusting yourself off after a disastrous fall. Breaking Bad's success has put Gilligan in the position where there's an audience that wants more from him but is also worried that it won't be as good.
So what's the difference between a Frasier and an AfterMASH, one of the sitcom greats and a mostly forgotten footnote? Well, no one, not even the team behind Joey (poor Joey) actually sets out to make AfterMASH. MASH was a huge hit – but when the storyline finally arrived at the end of the Korean war, they had to find a reason for Colonel Potter, Klinger and Father Mulcahy to team up back in the US. Arguably they didn't, or at least not in a way conducive to comedy. It barely lasted two years (and has rarely – if ever – been repeated).So what's the difference between a Frasier and an AfterMASH, one of the sitcom greats and a mostly forgotten footnote? Well, no one, not even the team behind Joey (poor Joey) actually sets out to make AfterMASH. MASH was a huge hit – but when the storyline finally arrived at the end of the Korean war, they had to find a reason for Colonel Potter, Klinger and Father Mulcahy to team up back in the US. Arguably they didn't, or at least not in a way conducive to comedy. It barely lasted two years (and has rarely – if ever – been repeated).
On the other hand, Frasier's run of 11 seasons between 1993 and 2004 didn't do anything to diminish the success of Cheers; it took a single character, Frasier Crane, and gave him a new life, surrounded by new characters in a different city, and it did so without relying heavily on cameos from the original cast. Sam, Cliff, Norm and Carla popped up eventually, but Frasier's ex-wife Lilith was the only character to have anything like a recurring guest spot, and as her stories were framed around their son, there was an organic reason for her occasional visits.On the other hand, Frasier's run of 11 seasons between 1993 and 2004 didn't do anything to diminish the success of Cheers; it took a single character, Frasier Crane, and gave him a new life, surrounded by new characters in a different city, and it did so without relying heavily on cameos from the original cast. Sam, Cliff, Norm and Carla popped up eventually, but Frasier's ex-wife Lilith was the only character to have anything like a recurring guest spot, and as her stories were framed around their son, there was an organic reason for her occasional visits.
If there is a lesson for Gilligan here, perhaps it's in the way that Frasier didn't try to replicate Cheers, but found a tone that was specific to Dr Crane's Seattle experience – it's still funny, warm and smart, but in many ways, it's a show that could have existed without the world of Cheers.If there is a lesson for Gilligan here, perhaps it's in the way that Frasier didn't try to replicate Cheers, but found a tone that was specific to Dr Crane's Seattle experience – it's still funny, warm and smart, but in many ways, it's a show that could have existed without the world of Cheers.
So far, while Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston have hinted that they'd be interested in cooking up guest spots, only Jonathan Banks (grizzly fixer Mike Ehrmantraut) has been confirmed as a returning cast member, along with new signings including Spinal Tap's Michael McKean, The Last Exorcism's Patrick Fabian and Michael Mando of Orphan Black. Beyond brief notes about Fabian also playing a lawyer and Mando playing a criminal, and a suggestion that it's going to be lighter than Breaking Bad, we still don't know too much about what we'll be seeing in November. As much as it's tempting to want to see more of Jesse Pinkman and Walter White, Better Call Saul probably has a better chance of succeeding if they don't call them too soon.So far, while Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston have hinted that they'd be interested in cooking up guest spots, only Jonathan Banks (grizzly fixer Mike Ehrmantraut) has been confirmed as a returning cast member, along with new signings including Spinal Tap's Michael McKean, The Last Exorcism's Patrick Fabian and Michael Mando of Orphan Black. Beyond brief notes about Fabian also playing a lawyer and Mando playing a criminal, and a suggestion that it's going to be lighter than Breaking Bad, we still don't know too much about what we'll be seeing in November. As much as it's tempting to want to see more of Jesse Pinkman and Walter White, Better Call Saul probably has a better chance of succeeding if they don't call them too soon.
In opening up about a work in progress, Gilligan seems to be aware of the concerns that it might not live up to expectations, but also the need to get on with it: "There's time to worry about it a little, but not to fixate on it." Better Call Saul might not have the narrative drive of a high school chemistry teacher/cancer patient turned methamphetamine kingpin pushing its drama forwards, but there's plenty of potential in both Goodman's character and the legal setting to give us something new. Hopefully, Better Call Saul won't replicate the success of Breaking Bad – it'll find its own way to entertain us.In opening up about a work in progress, Gilligan seems to be aware of the concerns that it might not live up to expectations, but also the need to get on with it: "There's time to worry about it a little, but not to fixate on it." Better Call Saul might not have the narrative drive of a high school chemistry teacher/cancer patient turned methamphetamine kingpin pushing its drama forwards, but there's plenty of potential in both Goodman's character and the legal setting to give us something new. Hopefully, Better Call Saul won't replicate the success of Breaking Bad – it'll find its own way to entertain us.