Home / Arts and Entertainment / Gilligan's 'Breaking Bad' Genesis: 9 Words!
Gilligan's 'Breaking Bad' Genesis: 9 Words!
14 Mar
Summary
- Vince Gilligan found the original nine-word concept for Breaking Bad.
- A top executive initially called the idea 'the worst ever heard.'
- Rhea Seehorn defended her character Carol against 'unlikable' labels.
Vince Gilligan, the creator of "Breaking Bad," shared a fascinating detail about the show's inception during a recent South by Southwest panel. He discovered a notepad containing the original, nine-word concept for the series: 'Good guy does something bad to save his family.'
This foundational idea was initially met with significant skepticism. Gilligan recounted how a now-former executive at Sony Pictures Television declared it 'the single worst idea I've ever heard.' Despite this harsh reception, the concept eventually moved forward, with AMC later becoming the distributor.
During the panel, Rhea Seehorn, who stars in Gilligan's current project "Pluribus," addressed audience commentary labeling her character, Carol, as 'unlikable.' Seehorn pushed back, arguing that such labels often stem from restrictive definitions of likability for female characters, asserting that Carol's complex and sometimes difficult behavior was a truthful reflection of her challenging experiences.
