Bob Odenkirk says Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul may be part sequel, part prequel

November 6th 2013, 1:49pm

Many of us are still suffering from Jesse Pinkman level withdrawal from the absence of Breaking Bad in our lives, but there’s a silver lining with the spinoff show, Better Call Saul, which will star the famed attorney, Saul Goodman, as played by Bob Odenkirk. The actor recently spoke to IGN about the show and addressed a few things, including the possibility of it being part prequel, part sequel (to the events of Breaking Bad), the tone, and the dangers of Breaking Bad cameos.

On the possibility of the show being a prequel and sequel:

Well, I’ve talked to Vince (Gilligan) and Peter (Gould), who are writing and creating the series, about this and I’ve said that a lot of people do want to see what happens to next to Saul. So, I don’t know what they’re going to do. I know they’ve talked about prequel, but they’ve also talked to me about sequel, and they’ve also talked to me about a mix of prequel and sequel.

On the question of the show being more comedy than drama:

I don’t think that’s what it’s going to be. It’s going to be 70% drama and 30% comedy.

On the dangers of having too much of a connection to Breaking Bad:

Oh my God, I told Peter and Vince, right away I said, ‘Look man, let us make this fresh for everyone.’ So that right away, in the first five minutes, every viewer goes, ‘Oh, this isn’t Breaking Bad, this is its own thing.’ And I think they feel the same exact way. There might be a cameo here or there, but I don’t know. We’re going to do a new show.

I know some folks are against a spinoff of Breaking Bad, most notably because it could mean a show that tries to ape the original, but I have confidence in Gilligan and Odenkirk to make Better Call Saul into something unique. Sure, there’s always the possibility that it could fail to launch, but I’m more than willing to give it a go, especially after the home run that was Breaking Bad. I don’t need a repeat of that show’s success, but a new show from the same collaborators? I’m in.

Better Call Saul is currently in active development.