Vince Gilligan is back, and he’s bringing Better Call Saul star Rhea Seehorn along for the ride in a mysterious sci-fi series that’s headed to Apple TV+. While the project has been shrouded in secrecy, Gilligan and Seehorn recently teased a few intriguing details—including just how far the Breaking Bad creator is pushing his signature genre-bending storytelling.
Before presenting Gilligan with the WGA West’s Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Television Writing Achievement, Seehorn spoke to Deadline about reuniting with the acclaimed writer-director.
“Doing this new show with him, it’s so much fun the more he and I develop a shorthand of that collaboration and understanding,” she said. “I can’t say enough lovely things about him.”
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Gilligan, never one to downplay his admiration for Seehorn, made it clear this project was built around her talents. “She’s such a pleasure to work with, I wrote a show for her. I created this new show for her,” he said.
As for the role Seehorn will be playing, Gilligan teased that audiences will see a very different side of the actress. “I’m excited for audiences to see Rhea play a very different character than the character she played on Better Call Saul,” he said. “She plays someone who’s trying very hard to be good. She’s a bit of a damaged hero, but she’s a hero nonetheless. And it’s just a pleasure to work with her because she’s just the best, and she is so sweet and kind and talented.”
Seehorn remained tight-lipped on specifics. “I can’t even tell you the title,” she admitted—but she did offer a bit more on what to expect tonally. “It’s sci-fi but in a more psychological kind of sci-fi way.”
“I can’t wait for it to come out though,” Seehorn added. “Some of the stuff that audiences have loved about his writing where it’s really rich characters but also him playing with the idea of tropes and genres and tone, and switching, like injected humor in a very dark moment — in this new show, he pushes that to a limit that was both very thought-provoking and upsetting sometimes, and other times, so, so funny. It really swings for the fences. I had so much fun.”
Apple TV+ secured the series in 2022 with a two-season straight-to-series order, an unusual show of confidence in a project that has kept its cards close to the chest. The show is set in a world that mirrors our own but with an unexpected twist, with reported comparisons to classics like E.T.
Filming was set to kick off in Albuquerque, New Mexico, last year. Gilligan serves as showrunner and executive producer through his High Bridge Productions, with former Sony Pictures TV president Jeff Frost and Diane Mercer also executive producing. Jenn Carroll is producing for High Bridge.
With Gilligan going sci-fi and Seehorn leading the charge, expectations are sky-high. Stay tuned as more on this enticing project comes to light.
