‘Better Call Saul’ Timeline to Overlap With ‘Breaking Bad’ for Meth-Cooking Cameos

So what kind of criminal clients and crazy cases might viewers expect on Better Call Saul? Bryan Cranston and his “baby blue,” to start.

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Executive producer Peter Gould, who created the character of Saul Goodman (played by Bob Odenkirk) and is co-showrunning Saul with Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, has confirmed that the AMC prequel series won’t only take place before the meth-cooking duo did indeed call Saul. Instead, it will include scenes that move back and forth over several decades.

“One of the great things about having a time line which is flexible is that perhaps some of it takes place before Breaking Bad, during Breaking Bad, and after Breaking Bad. That gives us the ability to bring back characters that were killed on Breaking Bad,” Gould told the New York Daily News.

However, the spinoff — currently filming in Albuquerque, N.M. — won’t simply be a framework for nostalgic Walter White/Heisenberg cameos, which have yet to be officially confirmed. “We want to make a show that stands on its own, is its own story and is a brand extension,” Gould continued. “We think we have a story that is worth making. … We could never dream of the kind of success that Breaking Bad had and the love we got from the fans. But [with Saul,] at a certain point, you have to do the best job you can and tell the best story that entertains you, get a good response and hope people like it.”

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Better Call Saul was recently renewed for a second season, but its 10-episode first season’s premiere has been pushed to 2015. “It’s tremendous for us because we get to plot out two seasons, and the way we work is similar to Breaking Bad as it is very serialized, and each episode builds on the last,” he said of the renewal. “That gives us a much bigger canvas to play with.”

Back in October, Gilligan teased the potential of Saul cameos in his THR cover story. “The sky’s the limit with a prequel,” he said at the time. “Everybody who’s now deceased in the Breaking Bad world is obviously still alive. You never know who might turn up and when and where.” He noted that Cranston and Aaron Paul (who played Jesse Pinkman) have expressed interest in making appearances, and Jonathan Banks, who played Saul’s former private detective Mike Ehrmantraut, has boarded the prequel as a series regular. Gilligan reiterated his cameo plans while backstage at the Golden Globes: “Peter Gould and I will be hitting up all these wonderful actors for cameos at some point.”

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The show will also examine Saul’s personal life, he explained. “We’ve only seen Saul in his professional habitat. It will be interesting to see a more personal, intimate side of Saul Goodman.”

Better Call Saul is set to premiere on AMC in 2015.

Email: Ashley.Lee@THR.com
Twitter: @cashleelee

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