A few weeks ago we heard news that Breaking Bad and Better Caul Saul creator, writer and executive producer Vince Gilligan would soon pitch his next show idea to US TV networks and streaming services.

In an interview with The New Yorker he may have given us a hint about his plans.

Deadline teased that his next should would be in a similar vein to The Twilight Zone.

Now we also know that he's keen for a break from bad.

Characters, that is.

For my next show, I’d like the lead character to be an old-fashioned hero, an old-fashioned good guy. Jim Rockford is kind of rough around the edges, but he always does the right thing. Fifteen years ago, when I was conceiving of Walter White, I looked around and thought, Well, what is current TV? It’s mostly good guys. But now I’m looking around, thinking, Gee, there’s an awful lot of bad guys on TV, and not just on shows but on the news. It feels like a world of shitheels now, both in fiction and in real life. I think it’s probably time again for a character who doesn’t go for the easy money. I’d be very happy if I could write a more old-fashioned hero, someone who is not out for themselves at every turn.

This is a man who has taken the temperature of the room.

With Discovery and Picard, Star Trek abandoned this space and Star Wars seems hell bent on dismantling and undermining their heroes, the Jedi.

Horrifically we may not even have seen the worst of that yet.

Their plans for the upcoming Sith focused series The Acolyte would retcon the Jedi into being lazy glamour queens, which they'll claim is what allowed Palpatine to eventually infiltrate the Senate.

We might shudder if we still cared.

That shit just ain't Star Wars.

And just like how The Orville came along at the perfect moment to give Star Trek fans what we wanted, other franchises can and inevitably will fill the void left by Star Wars.

No, don't expect laser swords in Vince Gilligan's new show but its main character might be a good sort.

Speaking to his writing process he makes two interesting points.

First, he and his team do their best writing when they approach it from the perspective of what would our characters do in this situation, rather than writing towards a specific ending.

Breaking Bad and Better Caul Saul took some turns that weren't planned.

That would certainly help to build a sense of believability in the story.

Second, rather than writing with a specific message or theme he says:

All you have to do is tell an engaging story.

We'd agree that this is most important.

Fiction, especially science-fiction, can very artfully make statements about or encourage viewers to engage with complex real world issues.

But you can't just hamfistedly shove a message down viewers' throats with a half-arsed story and improved diversity, then scream "bigot" at everyone who didn't enjoy it.

Well, obviously you can because we've seen that but it doesn't work and in our view also harms the cause of advancing inclusion in entertainment.

Entertainment needs to truly entertain.

[ Main Image: Better Caul Saul - Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Credit: Sony / AMC via IMDb.com. ]

References

Sacks, Mike (August 21, 2022). Vince Gilligan Wants to Write a Good Guy. The New Yorker.