Vince Gilligan and co. have now made two of the most compelling dramas that television viewers have ever watched, so if they made another show in that same story, viewers will certainly tune in. While Gilligan admitted that he’d like to do so, he’s also weary of the Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad universe potentially going sour, which he wants to avoid at all costs.

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In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gilligan was asked if he plans to continue expanding on the story once Better Call Saul wraps up. While he wants to do more, Gilligan said he fears the show becoming a one-trick pony, as he calls it. “I can definitely imagine revisiting it. Selfishly, I’d like to do so, to keep this thing going. But without naming any names, I look around at some of the worlds, the universes, the stories that I love, whether they’re on TV or in the movies. And I think there’s a certain point, and it’s hard to define, where you’ve done too much in the same universe. Just leave it alone. And some universes are much bigger and more elastic. Ours is a very small one, Albuquerque, New Mexico, versus some of these worlds and series of movies and TV shows. The main thing I’m scared of is becoming too much of a one-trick pony.” Gilligan also said he’s ready to try a whole new project. “Right now, whether there’s more room to grow or not — and there probably is — I feel like it’s time to do something new.”

Gilligan and co. already had Better Call Saul in the abstract while they were finishing up Breaking Bad, which is why the show started only a year and a half after its predecessor ended. While some actors from one or both shows would love to see their character be expanded, including Giancarlo Esposito, there haven’t been any reports of Gilligan or his writers trying something like that currently. If they were to expand on another aspect of the universe, all indications are it wouldn’t come as quickly as Better Call Saul did.

Gilligan has the right mindset here. Viewers have seen popular and revered franchises take a hit reputation-wise because they’ve done projects in attempts to expand their universe further, which ultimately hurt more than they helped - think Marvel in recent years and Harry Potter. Gilligan added a more than a worthy follow-up to Breaking Bad, which is considered arguably the greatest show of all-time, but he didn’t do Better Call Saul just to capitalize on Breaking Bad’s popularity. It’s clear that he did the show because he had a clear-as-day story to tell with Saul Goodman’s backstory. He shouldn’t continue the story if he doesn’t have a clear idea in mind.

If he decides to re-visit this story in the near future, he also has to keep in mind that follow-ups to other TV shows considered the greatest of all-time did not do well. In spite of The Sopranos regularly being hailed as one of the greatest shows ever made, The Many Saints of Newark received mixed reviews as a prequel by the fanbase. It sounds crazy now, but Better Call Saul came with many skeptics when it first started. The fact that it turned out as phenomenal as it did can be considered a miracle. If Gilligan doesn’t have a clear idea of where to go once the story is finished, no one should force him to come up with something else.

Better Call Saul will air its series finale on August 15, 2022, on AMC.

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Source: Rolling Stone