As you may have heard, AMC has given the green-light to Better Call Saul, an hour-long prequel spin-off of Breaking Bad, focusing on that show’s supporting character and comic relief, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk). But that wasn’t Breaking Bad creator Vince Gillignan’s only proposed follow-up to his hit drama. Flavorwire has acquired EXCLUSIVE access to (translation: totally made up) the memo Gilligan drafted to AMC brass, featuring several other pitches for Breaking Bad spin-offs. That text of that memo is after the jump.
7/12/12
To: Joel Stillerman, Head of Original Programming, AMC
From: Vince Gilligan, Creator/Showrunner, Breaking Bad
Joel-
Thanks again for lunch yesterday (and for the Benz — really, you shouldn’t have). As promised, I got the writers to turn off the endless loop of Godfather II and bat around some ideas for BB spin-off shows. There was some grumbling about “crass exploitation” and “leaving well enough alone,” but you were right, that wheelbarrow full of cash really did the trick! Anyway, here’s what we came up with:
Leave It to Badger
Odd Couple-style half-hour buddy sitcom with Badger moving in to Skinny Pete’s place after he has a falling out with Clovis (whose apartment he’d been subletting). Possible episode ideas: Badger and Skinny Pete make a Star Trek fan film that becomes a YouTube sensation; Badger convinces Skinny Pete to reform Twaughthammer with him; Badger goes back to work as a walking billboard and falls in love with a hooker working a nearby corner. A guest appearance by Aaron Paul as Jesse’s ghost could be a big draw during sweeps.
Breakfast with Walt Jr. Flynn
Cooking shows are inexpensive to produce and highly profitable (I’ve taken a few meetings over at the Food Network). So we get RJ Mitte to host this weekly show, in which celebrities pop in and whip up their favorite breakfasts. The marketing opportunities for his “What’s for breakfast?” catchphrase are endless.
Old Joe’s Science Lab
Who says Bill Nye has to be television’s only Science Guy? Every week Old Joe and a handful of the troubled teens who hang out near his junkyard will bring us a variety of experiments with body disposal, RV crushing, and magnets. Lots and lots of magnets.
The Enforcers
We can’t help but notice there’s a serious shortage of buddy action/comedy in your current schedule. Here’s how you solve that problem: Huell and Kuby as freelance enforcers-for-hire, tracking down bail jumpers, strong-arming business types, and generally getting on each other’s nerves. C’mon, tell me you can’t already hear Kuby giving Huell the business for braking so loud. This stuff practically writes itself! (But to be clear, it will cost you to have us write it for you.)
Uncle Jack and the Gang
Sick of losing viewers to Sons of Anarchy? Here ya go. A show centered around Todd’s Uncle Jack, his sidekick Kenny, and their crew of neo-Nazis is about the only pitch we’ve got with the capability to be as dark as Breaking Bad. And also, considering the ending we’ve got in mind for one of the final episodes, there’s also a definite “gang that couldn’t shoot straight” angle to be exploited here.
Mad About Meth
This one’d be a prequel, thanks to the grisly end they met in the “Peekaboo” episode, but how about a romantic comedy detailing how meth-head Spooge and his nameless girlfriend met, fell in love, and then fell in hate? If the meth angle was a sell point for Bad, I can promise you this one’ll have more meth than you can shake a pipe at.
Gray Matter
Viewers will thrill to corporate intrigue in the world of pharmaceuticals in this hour-long drama set at the company Walt co-founded and abandoned all those years ago. Sure, it sounds drab, but never underestimate the ratings power of a good, solid medical drama (especially with this title, which should confuse a few Grey’s Anatomy viewers).
Have an A1 Day
There’s high drama in the business offices at A1A Car Wash — but it’s all wacky hijinks out on the line, where a zany mixture of high school kids and not-quite-documented workers keep things foaming and rolling. At A1, comedy’s never “lost in translation”! (Feel free to use that in the promo materials.)
Baby Kingpin
Holly White has got her dad’s ruthlessness and science smarts and her mom’s drive and business acumen. If there were ever a toddler fully equipped to take over a massive drug empire, it’s this one. Bonus: people love babies. The memes make themselves here, you guys.
Better Call Saul
I dunno, you tell me. This one seems like a stretch.