‘Better Call Saul’ Creator Vince Gilligan Re-Teaming With Series Star on Apple TV Series

Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan has already found his follow-up to Better Call Saul and it will star a familiar face. Rhea Seehorn, who won critical acclaim for playing attorney Kim Wexler on Better Call Saul, will star in an untitled project Gilligan is writing for Apple TV+. Even though the show doesn’t have a title, Apple TV+ is so confident in the show that the streamer gave it a two-season order on Sept. 22, reports Deadline.

The new series is described as a “blended, grounded genre drama,” but few other specifics are available. The pitch is being compared to The Twilight Zone and reportedly presents today’s world in an unsurprising way that explores the human condition while bending reality. “Thought-provoking but not a morality tale, the series also is expected to carry the signature Gilligan tone that infuses drama with humor,” Deadline notes.

Gilligan plans to serve as the showrunner on the project. Sony Pictures Television is the studio behind the series, having worked with Gilligan on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Gilligan is an executive producer through his High Bridge Productions. Former Sony Pictures TV President Jeff Frost and Diane Mercer are also executive producers on the project. Jenn Caroll will produce for High Bridge.

Deadline first reported on the project in August, when Gilligan’s pitch was attracting interest from at least eight networks and streamers. Sony Pictures TV and Gilligan were reportedly seeking a bid from a venue interested in granting the project a straight-to-series order. The show will also cost $13 million to $15 million per episode to produce. Apple TV+ quickly emerged as the frontrunner thanks to Gilligan’s relationship with Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht, who served as Sony Pictures TV presidents when Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul were in development. They are now both at Apple TV+, as is former Sony Pictures TV executive Chris Parnell.

“After 15 years, I figured it was time to take a break from writing antiheroes… and who’s more heroic than the brilliant Rhea Seehorn? It’s long past time she had her own show, and I feel lucky to get to work on it with her,” Gilligan told Deadline. “And what nice symmetry to be reunited with Zack Van Amburg, Jamie Erlicht, and Chris Parnell! Jamie and Zack were the first two people to say yes to Breaking Bad all those years ago. They’ve built a great team at Apple, and my wonderful, longtime partners at Sony Pictures Television and I are excited to be in business with them.”

Seehorn earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress for Better Call Saul this year. She also directed the fourth episode of the final season, “Hit and Run.” Her other TV credits include Franklin & Bash, VEEP, The Act, The Twilight Zone, House of Lies, and Jim Gaffigan’s sci-fi comedy Linoleum.