Vince Gilligan And Peter Gould On The Evolution Of ‘Better Call Saul’ And The Potential Return Of Walter White

One of the most delightful pleasures of the 2016 television season was AMC’s Better Call Saul. Showrunners Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould have not only crafted an enthralling new series, they’ve also added another chapter to the already rich history of Breaking Bad. With the first season currently streaming on Netflix and the comprehensive Season 2 Blu-ray and DVD sets now available for purchase, you have no excuse not to catch up on one of the best shows of the year.

The two dynamic minds behind the critically-acclaimed crime drama recently spoke with Decider about the challenges of writing a prequel, the difficulties in bringing back characters from Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston’s recent set visit, and how the Better Call Saul timeline would force them to make Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman the Ferris Bueller of meth.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and read this interview with Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould every once in a while, you could miss it.

DECIDER: It’s obvious you guys are having so much fun telling Jimmy’s story. Is there anything from Breaking Bad, specifically with the Saul character, that you wish you could retcon now that you’re telling the story of Jimmy’s transformation into Saul Goodman?

PETER GOULD: Boy all I can say is it would make our lives a lot easier if Saul had already met certain characters on the show instead of meeting them for the first time on Breaking Bad. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve pitched different characters and said, “Well, yeah we’d love to do that but it seems like you can only meet someone for the first time once,” and so we can’t make it seem like he already knew this person once we get into Breaking Bad.

VINCE GILLIGAN: For me off the top of my head, I wish Jesse Pinkman hadn’t been in high school during the events of Better Call Saul. 

PG: Isn’t that the truth.

VG: Unless he was like the Ferris Bueller of meth, or something; if he was like a prodigy. God knows we love Aaron Paul.

PG: It’s mostly characters. It may seem like we’re reluctant, and I think we probably were in Season 1, to introduce a lot of existing characters into the show, and I think we’re still careful about it. But season one, I’ll speak for myself, I was very aware of trying to make sure this show stood on its own and that we didn’t spend too much time springing off of the Breaking Bad legacy. There is always the thought of adding cameos but it’s mostly — there are characters and actors we just loved working with on Breaking Bad who we’d love to see again on Better Call Saul. But it’s not always easy to figure out how to do it in an organic way, and we have to go where the story takes us. That’s our number one priority.

I want to talk about your original vision for Better Call Saul compared to where the series is now as you head into Season 3. I’m such a fan of the show’s supporting cast. Has the incredible performances of Rhea Seehorn and Michael McKean (who portray Kim Wexler and Chuck McGill, respectively) changed your plans for the upcoming season or perhaps your timeline for Jimmy becoming Saul?

VG: Oh my God! Did it! I mean if we go way back, I don’t know if there was a hard and fast plan. But I mean my original image of the show was that it would be a half-hour long and that it’d basically be Saul Goodman and his office with crazy styrofoam columns and kooky characters coming in with their legal problems played by a lot of stand-up comedians.

PG: I’d see that show. I’d still watch that. I don’t think I could write it though.

VG: I don’t think we could write it. I don’t think I could write that show, but it would be sort of like Dr. Katz or something. We thought, briefly, that we were going to do something like that. But then the show evolved as these things always do and it took on a life of its own. Suddenly we’ve got all these other characters who we didn’t conceive of until the pilot was written and beyond that even and they are so integral to the show now. They are so crucial to the show, and that’s what I love about TV.

In the case of Rhea Seehorn, we hired her and we thought, “Oh Jimmy should have a girlfriend, or at least someone he pines for.” Maybe she’ll never let him into her life but unrequited love… it’s a good thing. It always works with drama or comedy. So let’s have a fun young woman who Jimmy is keen on. And then we hire this actress, Rhea Seehorn, and she’s so wonderful, and so talented, and the character has taken on a life of her own, and I can’t imagine the show without her.

PG: Exactly. I think of it as the show talking back to you. The great example for me is Michael McKean. We wrote this initial scene between Jimmy and Chuck, and I think our original idea was that Chuck was sort of a burden to Jimmy. It was sort of a way to humanize a character who we were worried about humanizing, especially as we started off thinking about Saul Goodman. The fact that he cares about his brother and he sacrifices for him was part of our way of creating a rooting interest, if that makes any sense.

Michael McKean brought something to the character that I don’t think either one of us quite understood until we saw it. He had this pride, this gravity. He’s an important person, Chuck is. Once we saw that we started saying, “Well how are these two guys brothers? And how does Chuck feel about this ne’er-do-well, which is how he must see Jimmy,” and so much of the show grows through observations like that rather than having a giant five year plan pinned up on the board that talks about all the big set pieces that you’re going to have as you go. It’s much more interesting, I think the work that I get most excited about comes from looking closely at what we’ve already done and figuring out where it takes us rather than thinking about all the amazing things we can do in the future. We have to do both.

As for Rhea, I couldn’t agree more. There’s an independence to Kim and a verve to the way Rhea plays her that I don’t think we realized, especially in the pilot. She basically has two words, “You know I can’t.”

VG: She has that unmistakable moment where she’s smoking and [Jimmy] takes the cigarette from her and puts it in his mouth and then puts it back in her mouth. We knew seeing that that we had the right actress.

Finally, are we going to see any more Breaking Bad characters pop up during the third season? I know there were rumors circulating about Bryan Cranston recently visiting the set. 

VG: I was lucky to get to direct the first two episodes of season three, and Bryan did indeed visit the set. He was in town to make an appearance promoting his autobiography, which I would suggest everybody go out there and buy it. It’s an excellent book. I’ve read it, and it was wonderful having him visit the set. It truly was just a set visit; I don’t want to artificially suggest to people that they’re going to see him on the show. I’m not saying one way or the other, but don’t hold your breath, so to speak.

But he did visit the set, and it was wonderful having him. It was the first time in three and a half years he’d been to Albuquerque. First time he’d been there since Breaking Bad ended, and it was a wonderful boost to the crew and to me to see and to catch up with him. It was like old home week, and I really think it was a good boost to him. He really seemed kind of touched to be back in Albuquerque where so much had happened to him and for him, and it was just great seeing him on the set.

As to your other question, the best way I have personally found to put it is the overlap on the venn diagram between Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul only continues to increase in Season 3. If you’re a fan of Breaking Bad, you will have even more reason to watch Better Call Saul in Season 3.

The 10-episode third season of Better Call Saul will premiere in early 2017 on AMC. Need to catch up? Season 1 of the series is currently streaming on Netflix, and Season 2 episodes are available to buy or rent on Amazon Video.