All The Breaking Bad Universe Projects We Want To See After Better Call Saul
This article contains spoilers for both "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul."
The world Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould created with "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" captivated audiences for 14 years, 11 seasons, and 125 episodes combined. "Better Call Saul" just wrapped with an epic finale, "Saul Gone," which, so far, enjoys a 9.8 rating from IMDb viewers, just a tick below the 9.9 mark set by the "Breaking Bad" series finale, "Felina."
Gilligan and Gould have, of course, been pestered about the possibility of another series set in the two shows' shared universe. According to Deadline, Gould said, "I couldn't be happier and more proud of the work, but like Vince, I think there are some other things I want to try. Having said that, I love Albuquerque. I love Bob [Odenkirk]. I love Rhea [Seehorn]. I love Vince [Gilligan]. So we'll keep as much of the band together, and also, never say never. Who knows how we're going to feel in a couple of years?"
Should Gilligan and Gould come back for more, the list of dead characters is long and will limit their options. Walter White (Bryan Cranston), Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), Chuck McGill (Michael McKean), Nacho Varga (Michael Mando), Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian), and Lalo, Hector, and Tuco Salamanca (Tony Dalton, Mark Margolis, and Raymond Cruz) all have met their mortal end, but let's look at some potential sequels that the franchise's creative team could base on characters still left alive after the "Better Call Saul" finale.
The Continued Misadventures of Badger and Skinny Pete
Two of the most consistently entertaining characters from "Breaking Bad," Jesse Pinkman's (Aaron Paul) meth-dealing buddies Badger (Matt Jones) and Skinny Pete (Charles Baker), were never seen on "Better Call Saul," although Badger's name was invoked repeatedly. They were at the center of "El Camino," however, helping Jesse clean himself up and get safely to Best Quality Vacuum and eventual freedom after Walt sprung him from his underground neo-Nazi prison.
Baker and Jones showed their comedic chops in lengthy discussions of fatal "Star Trek" eating contest subterfuge and unemployed Nazi zombies. They play as perfectly off of each other as Bryan Cranston and Paul did, and a series focused on Badger and Skinny Pete would bring us back to the striking and familiar Albuquerque setting. There is a lot of institutional knowledge lingering in the meth-addled brains of these two characters, and their scenes together are consistently both heartfelt and hilarious.
Baker is also a talented musician, and that could give his character — and Jones' too — room to grow and evolve. The experience of seeing and springing their old friend had to change even these two simple but endearing and generally well-intentioned guys. and maybe someday, they can learn the lessons Walter White and Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman/Gene Takavic (Bob Odenkirk) never did.
Marion and Jeffy: Citizen Detectives
After escaping the wrath of the Salamanca cartel, the DEA, and Heisenberg himself, Saul was brought down by the sweetest of foils: Marion (Carol Burnett), the Rascal-riding mother of Omaha cabbie Jeff (Don Harvey and Pat Healy). Marion's hackles are raised when Jeff calls Saul and not her when he is arrested, and she jumps on her clunky laptop and finds Saul's old Albuquerque cable TV commercials.
Emboldened by her ability to help bring down a notorious criminal with nothing more than a dial-up internet connection and a Life Alert necklace, Marion goes on to join the citizen crime solver brigade. Aided by Jeff's knowledge of Omaha's streets and petty crime, they bring down not-yet-introduced but long-sought-after criminals like Lion Dave (Robb Wells of "Trailer Park Boys," perhaps?), a local animal trainer who feeds his murder victims to his pride; maybe they even track Jesse to Alaska.
The stakes don't necessarily have to be that high; Marion and Jeff could team up with mall security guards Frank (Jim O'Heir) and Nick (Nathaniel Augustson) to help protect the food court and parking deck from evildoers. In her four episodes on "Better Call Saul," Burnett stole every scene and proved she can still carry a show as well as any actor on the planet. Although she may not be willing to sign on for a series commitment at 89, even an "El Camino"-style bonus movie would be wildly welcomed by fans.
Better Not Call Kim
Knowing that Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) didn't appear at all in "Breaking Bad" had "Better Call Saul" viewers gravely concerned for her fate, but she escaped both death and prison to a safe but dreary life in Florida. Seehorn speculated on Kim's future in a chat with the Los Angeles Times, saying, "I personally think there's a rebuilding of sorts and an attempt to relish any kind of second chance at life that is more truthful. And for Kim, I think the more truthful part does involve practicing law and trying again to go about actually helping people."
A Kim-centered series would give writers the chance to continue their hilarious portrayal of Kim's mundane everyday world of tuna salad and plumbing catalogs, while contrasting that with her volunteer work at the Central Florida Legal aid free clinic. It was Gene's phone call to Kim that led directly to his downfall, hence the suggested title. But whether or not Kim finds her way back to a full-time law practice and a life interesting enough to be shot in color, there would be plenty to explore in "Better Not Call Kim" — including an occasional reunion with Jimmy/Saul/Gene in prison.
Seehorn speculated as much, telling the Times, "I also think there's plenty of people that will think that she's never going back there and that is the end of the tale. But that just makes me cry too hard, so I can't."
Albuquerque Justice
"Better Call Saul" viewers spent a lot of time in the Albuquerque County and federal justice systems, creating lots of options for potential spinoff dramas, comedies, or hybrids.
There's obvious well-trod territory to be walked with a standard courtroom procedural, maybe featuring assistant district attorney Susan Ericsen (Julie Pearl), federal prosecutor George Castellano (Bob Jesser), and DEA boss Austin Ramey (Todd Terry) pursuing Jesse. There's comedy in Bill Oakley's (Peter Diseth) constant struggles with the courthouse coffee vending machine, and definitely some stories behind the single discreet Grateful Dead logo next to the law school bumper sticker on his dilapidated AMC Concord.
Neither "Breaking Bad" nor "Better Call Saul" were straight dramas or comedies, though, and any legal-system based spinoff based on them could, and should, be equal parts "L.A. Law" and "Night Court." Throw Wanda Sykes in as a harsh but fair wisecracking judge who hands out creative sentences, and maybe Tessa Thompson and Luke Wilson as mismatched FBI agent partners sent to hunt down Jesse, and AMC has a surefire hit — with the added bonus of returning us to the familiar and comfortable Albuquerque setting.
Breaking Baby
At the conclusion of both "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul," most characters' stories were pretty much completely resolved whether by way of bullets, cancer, or the justice system. But we don't hear nearly enough about what their tragic upbringings might do to Kaylee Ehrmantraut (Kaija Roze Bales, Faith Healey, Abigail Zoe Lewis, and Juliet Donenfeld) and Holly White (Elanor Anne Wenrich) as they grow into adults.
Kaylee lived through her father and grandfather's tragic murders, and Holly witnessed a violent family fight moments before she was kidnapped by her father and abandoned at a fire station. While Holly was still too young in her last appearance to do much damage, we do know that Kaylee is good with a nail gun. They could battle each other once Kaylee finds out that Holly's father murdered her beloved grandpa, or perhaps even reconcile and team up for crimes so heinous they make Walt and Saul look like shoplifters in comparison. Skyler (Anna Gunn) could launder money for the duo, and Walt Jr./Flynn (A.J. Mitte) could play the Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) Memorial Antagonist role as a federal agent who unknowingly pursues his own sister.
But whether Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould ever return to the universe they created together remains to be seen. Per Deadline, Gilligan said at the last "Better Call Saul" TCA panel, "I think I'm starting to sense you've got to know when to leave the party, you don't want to be the guy with a lampshade on your head." Should they brave that potential embarrassment, they certainly have a wide range of lampshades from which to choose.