Breaking Bad Creator’s Next Show Likened To X-Files & Twilight Zone

Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan’s upcoming new show is said to be like The X-Files and The Twilight Zone. Gilligan started his TV career with shows like The Lone Gunmen and The X-Files, where he developed his craft before jumping into his biggest hit, Breaking Bad. He won Emmys for his work on both Breaking Bad and spinoff series Better Call Saul, starring Bob Odenkirk, which is set to end its run on August 15 with the season 6 finale.

Gilligan has worked at expanding the Breaking Bad universe since the original series ended in 2013, following up with Better Call Saul and El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, which focused on the Aaron Paul’s character Jesse Pinkman. With the end of Better Call Saul, however, it appears that Gilligan is ready to step out of that universe and into something else entirely, as he’s teased for a while, saying that it would be “something really different” from what he’s done before. Now, new details have come to light in terms of what type of show Gilligan will kick off next, which appears to be going back to his early roots a bit.

Per Deadline, Gilligan is preparing to start shopping his next TV project, which comes from Sony Pictures TV, which is a big shift from the criminal underworld of Breaking Bad. The new unnamed show is said to go back to Gilligan’s time on The X-Files, “exploring similar themes of bending reality while holding a mirror to humanity.” The show is also likened to The Twilight Zone, described as “a blended, grounded genre drama” that is “set in our world while putting a tweak on it, focusing on people and exploring the human condition in an unexpected, surprising way.” The show is expected to go for “a couple of seasons with an overreaching story arc” and will contain Gilligan’s signature tone that “infuses drama with humor.”

Gilligan will begin shopping the series to networks within the next few weeks, with 8-9 different venues preparing to hear his pitch. While AMC has been his home for Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul the last 15 years, it’s entirely possible that this next project jumps to a new platform or network if buyers outside AMC are more keen to produce. Gilligan has said a Breaking Bad universe return could happen at some point, but that he doesn’t want to be a “one-trick pony,” and that it’s ultimately “time to do something new.”

While Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fans will surely miss the stories and characters from that universe, Gilligan is an amazing storyteller that obviously has more to explore beyond that world. It should be a relief he has expressed interest in potentially returning to the Breaking Bad franchise later on, which invites fans to check out what he has in mind next. Gilligan’s character work on The X-Files was excellent, and taking things into a more sci-fi/genre-bending realm will be a fun place to explore, given what he’s done with the more grounded reality of his last two shows. Whatever it is that Gilligan is preparing, it will no doubt be something special, as he’s more than proven the viability of his creative vision at this point.