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AMC’s Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul is one of TV’s most beloved shows right now, but the end is near. The series finale airs Monday, August 15, wrapping up six seasons of drama. The showrunners, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, recently spoke about why the story is ending now, while Gilligan discussed why his next project will not be set in the Breaking Bad universe.
When it’s all said and done, Better Call Saul’s total runtime will be about 127 hours, and that feels right, Gilligan said. “One hundred twenty-seven hours is meaningful to me because that’s how long it took that poor bastard to decide to cut his arm off,” Gilligan said at a media appearance this week attended by The Hollywood Reporter. He’s referencing the incredible story of hiker Aron Ralston who chopped his own arm off after it got pinned under a rock.
Connecting it to Better Call Saul, Gould said the team did not want to overstay its welcome, and he wants to do something new. “It’s a lot to ask of an audience,” Gould said. “I couldn’t be happier and more proud of the work, but I have some other things I want to try. I love the cast, I love Albuquerque, I love whole group, so it would be great to keep the band together as much as possible.”
As for Gilligan’s next project, it won’t be another show or film set in the Breaking Bad universe. “You’ve got to know when to leave the party,” he said. “You don’t want to be the guy with the lampshade on his head.”
Gilligan admitted that he said the same thing when Breaking Bad ended, but now he feels a pull to prove to himself that he’s “not a one-trick pony.” According to a report, Gilligan’s next show is something completely different, and might be akin to The Twilight Zone.
As for the Better Call Saul series finale, Gilligan said “it’s a delight” and that he’s excited to see how people react. Bob Odenkirk, who plays Saul/Jimmy, said the finale “goes right to the heart of what this show is.”
In other news, Gilligan recently revealed that he had an idea for a Breaking Bad video game that might have been inspired by Grand Theft Auto, but it did not go anywhere.
