‘Better Call Saul’ Writer/Producer Alison Tetlock Speaks Post-‘Breaking Bad’ Back to the Future

[This story contains spoilers for Better Call Saul‘s “Nippy.”]

when be You better call Saul.With the final season kicking off in April, fans were immediately surprised when the season six premiere didn’t begin with the life and times of Cinnabon manager Gene Takovich. Up to season six, all seasons saul It all started with Jimmy McGill/Sol Goodman living in the gins of Omaha, Nebraska, but thanks to writer Alison Tatlock and director Michelle McLaren’s “Nippy” episode, viewers have now experienced their first full-length episode in the publication.breaking Bad Monday night’s black and white episode also confirmed the fact that Jean’s adventure takes place about five weeks after Walter White (Bryan Cranston) killed his last enemy. breaking BadThe end of the series.

According to Tatlock, pushing Gene’s story into the second half of season six feels like a big left turn after last week’s game-changing episode “Fun and Games.”

“After the emotionally intense finale of 609 and the leap into full Saul territory, we felt it would be exciting, surprising and, hopefully, enjoyable to finally shift gears and jump into our black and white future,” shares Tatlock. .

Gen’s teasers for seasons four and five also introduced Jeff (now played by Pat Hill), a menacing pilot who recognized Saul Goodman from his Albuquerque days. So, to level the playing field, Jean hatches a plan to get closer to Jeff’s mother Marion, played by the charming Carol Burnett.

“We knew he was a fan. [Better Call Saul] s breaking BadSo we crossed our fingers. There were a lot of people working behind the scenes who were doing more than just crossing their fingers, but personally, I crossed my fingers,” says Tatlock with a smile.

In conversation with the latest spoiler THRTatlock, who joined the show in season four and is now an executive producer, also discusses the episode’s climactic moment, in which Gene admits how he really feels about his post.breaking Bad life.

So you defied convention in season six by not starting with Genie. Instead, he saved it for today’s Nip, the penultimate episode. What made this the right time to send Mr. Takovich?

After an emotionally intense finale to 609 and a leap into full Saul territory, we felt it would be exciting and surprising and hopefully exciting to finally end the show and move forward into our black and white future. We weren’t sure if it would be a 610 event, but when we got there, it felt like the right time.

The episode title “Nippy” also broke the season title pattern, but it makes sense because it’s an episode that stands out from the rest. Was that an excuse?

Exactly. It almost felt like we were starting something new. The scoring is different, the casting is a little different, and we’ve never had a completely black and white episode before. So, there were so many new elements in this episode that it felt right to mix it all up now that it’s the second half of the final season.

Carol Burnett played Jeff’s mother, Marion and Carol were mentioned in Anne Cherkiss 205. Chuck (Michael McKinney) and Rebecca (Anne Cusack) discussed the signal they would give each other if Jimmy was too naughty at dinner, opting to play him. outside. ear. Anyway, how did this casting come about?

We are huge fans of hers and were excited to see her take on the role. We didn’t plan the role specifically for him, but as soon as he was born, we knew quickly that he was going to be amazing. And he was perfect for it. We couldn’t ask for anything more to have her and we are very lucky that everything worked out for us. we knew he was a fan [Better Call Saul] s breaking BadSo we crossed our fingers. There were a lot of people working behind the scenes doing more than crossing their fingers, but I personally kept my fingers crossed. (laughs.)

So it was amazing to work with Carol Burnett. He had great chemistry with Bob and brought a lot of energy to every appearance. He was a super game. And because Bobby was the show’s remaining star without our usual. [series regulars]It was a little scary showing up in Albuquerque with a new crew, but what about Carol, Jim O’Hair as Frank and Pat Healy as Jeff. It was a really strong lineup and it was really exciting and fun to watch them work.

I know they were discontinued in 1985, but has the writers’ room ever considered reviving Hinky Dinky for Marion’s Grocery? [Writer’s note: Kim referenced that grocery store chain in Gordon Smith’s 207 as she was describing her best case scenario had she not left her tiny town on the “Kansas-Nebraska border” for bigger and better things.]

(laughs.) We actually talked a lot about Hinky Dink in the writers’ room, but I don’t know if we’re talking about that supermarket specifically. This grocery store, Hansen’s, was eventually named in honor of our brilliant property manager, Mark Hansen. So there are different nods in the episode to the people who worked so hard behind the scenes. You might also have noticed the Schnauz Farms cheese [in honor of writer-EP Tom Schnauz].

I was going to ask you about it! After Marion refused to try Schnauz Farms’ Extra Sharp Wisconsin Cheddar, brace yourself for a barrage of angry emails from Wisconsin cheeseheads?

(laughs.) Yes, there may be many people who may be upset for one reason or another, but that’s all done [cheeseheads] from Wisconsin.

The schedule changed, understandably, and as a result, Don Harvey was no longer available to play Jeff. Then he reprized the role with Pat Healy. Did you have to rewrite the character because of what Pat brought to the role?

Sorry, we didn’t write anything. When I was writing, we didn’t know the cast would change, so we didn’t know enough about the differences between the two actors or who we would necessarily have. So, it was written with the original Jeff in mind, and what Pat came after felt really appealing to us. He took exactly what was written and made it for himself.

Director Michelle MacLaren’s Return Is Royal breaking Bad the world. Was there a moment early on in the set when you realized why he has such a famous reputation?

First of all, I really enjoyed working with Michelle. Pedro [Gould]to whom [Gilligan] And I was told in advance that Michelle would be directing a lot, so I knew she would be the perfect match for the complex movies of the episode with all those monitors and movies in movies and edits, so many takes and so much math. When we started filming parts of the montage at the mall, I had Bob as a genius, walking down the aisle several times, catching him as his confidence grew and grew. It was an elaborate montage and created an incredible collaboration between the director and the actor. Bob raised his confident voice in a very subtle and calm way, and that’s when I said to myself, “I see. I’m in good hands. ”

So the episode culminates in a sequence where Jean uses the truth to distract Frank (Jim O’Hare) and from that we learn how Jim really feels about his current life. He is alone and full of regret. How about writing that moment and then filming it on set?

It was a lot of fun to write and I loved writing every scene in Frank-Gen, including the emotional climax of everything. The duality of what Jin/Soul/Jim is doing right now is psychologically interesting. One of Jimmy’s tricks or abilities, even if he doesn’t consciously think about it, is to use his own emotional displays as a manipulation device while experiencing the true emotion of the moment. There are times on set when the stakes are high and you wonder how an actor will convey what’s on the page, but this was definitely one where we all felt in sync. You could see that Bob knew exactly what we were talking about.

In 201, a mall janitor was listening Eisen’s Rich Show From October 21, 2010 and 610, Jim O’Hair’s character referenced the college football game the night before, which was Texas vs. Nebraska on October 16, 2010. This detail again confirms that we observed Gene on September 7, 2010, approximately five weeks after Walter White’s M60 massacre. We’ll finally find out why he kept the gin on hand. breaking Badconclusion?

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…

The Albuquerque Cinnabon you used for the Omaha location is no longer available. So was it quite a difficult process to get back to work at that location in some way?

We had incredible help from the wonderful and talented people at Cinnabon who didn’t just get started and showed the actors how to do their thing.

Marion referred to the “bad people” Jeff hung out with in Albuquerque. Do you know who these bad people are?

We don’t know, but we hope it’s provocative, because we certainly know a lot about the world of Albuquerque. But we don’t know specifically.

In a word, how would you describe the rest of the season?

trick

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You better call Saul. Now on the air on AMC. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.