On January 20, AMC is premiering Breaking Bad, a new dramedy that revolves around a high school chemistry teacher who, after being diagnosed with lung cancer, sets up a meth lab in an RV in order to provide for his wife and handicapped son. Creator Vince Gilligan, the man behind the highly-successful X-Files series, is unsure of what exactly drove him to develop a show with the particular premise.
“I’m not really sure what inspired it. All I can remember is that I was talking to an old college buddy – also a writer – about two years ago. We were joking on the phone about how we should quit writing and find another line of work. Somehow, cooking meth came up as one possibility,” Villigan told the Times-Dispatch. “Obviously, we were joking. But this character sprung into my head. I’ve never had that happen to me before.”
“This character” is named Walt White, and is essayed by veteran actor Bryan Cranston. Most known for playing Hal on the family comedy Malcolm in the Middle, Cranston “brings an innate likability to the role,” and possesses all the necessary skills to make the character work.
“He is a genuinely good and decent individual, and he’s a man of character in real life. And he’s a wonderful actor. He’s incredibly funny in person and on screen,” Villigan said of Cranston. “If you have a character who’s dying and cooking meth, you’d better have some lighter moments… This character is doing some dark deeds, and we have to like the guy who’s playing Walt on some deep down level so we stay around for the ride.”
Villigan says that he is not attempting to present viewers with a “morality tale” with Breaking Bad. Rather, the series is focused on how one man has chosen to reinvent himself given the circumstances.
“I love… [stories of redemption], but I didn’t know how to tell one in any way, shape or form,” he explained. “So I figured I could turn it on its ear and not tell a story of redemption, but one about a guy with blinders on his eyes who decides to reinvent himself and burn his candle on both ends and really live… The audience doesn’t have to agree with everything he’s doing, like Tony Soprano. But at least we understand why he’s doing it.”
Breaking Bad premieres January 20 at 10/9c on AMC.
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Times-Dispatch via inrich.com
(Image Courtesy of AMC)
Staff Columnist, BuddyTV
