As AMC's critically acclaimed drama "Breaking Bad" prepares to begin its final season Sunday night, series creator Vince Gilligan is looking beyond the show into a possible spinoff. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Gilligan discussed the possibility of lawyer Saul Goodman getting his own show.
"I would love to see a Saul Goodman spinoff show when it's all said and done," Gilligan said. "While 'Breaking Bad' is by design a show that is finite and limited in its scope -- it's a story of transformation that cannot go on forever -- I think a Saul Goodman show could have great legs. I love the idea of a lawyer who will do anything to avoid going to court. He's always going to settle on the courthouse steps."
Saul Goodman, played by veteran comedian Bob Odenkirk, acts a scummy legal counsel to Bryan Cranston's morally bankrupt meth lord Walter White. A self-professed "criminal" lawyer, Goodman specializes in finding legal loopholes and recourses to keep his clients out of prison. Focusing on Albuquerque's skeeziest lawyer could open up a multitude of potential story ideas for the proposed spinoff.
Of course, fans shouldn't take this as evidence that Odenkirk's beloved character will make it through the end of "Breaking Bad" alive. According to Gilligan, "everything is on the table," even the sleazy lawyer's grizzly demise.
"Saul has got to survive this show first," Gilligan told EW. "And if he doesn't, then maybe it can be done as a prequel."
Season 5 of "Breaking Bad" premieres Sunday. The season will be split up into two eight-episode blocks, with the second half of the season airing in early 2013.