Apple just landed one of the most instantly-anticipated new TV projects in recent memory today, as Deadline reports that the tech giant has scored a two-season deal for a new show from Vince Gilligan and Better Call Saul star Rhea Seehorn. It’s a direct-to-series order, too—no screwing around with pilots or waiting-and-seeing on test footage, because, well: Vince Gilligan and Rhea Seehorn!
Details about the series are, of course, pretty much nil at this point, beyond a very basic logline that it’ll be a “blended, grounded genre drama.” (There’s also been some suggestion that it might be veering into some measure of sci-fi or alternate reality; Deadline mentions Twilight Zone as a possible tonal reference.) But it’s really not hard to see why an immediate bidding war erupted basically the minute Gilligan started floating his Better Call Saul follow-up last month; the former X-Files producer now has not just one, but two massive critical and ratings hits under his belt, between Saul and its predecessor Breaking Bad. Meanwhile, Seehorn—who has a long acting resumé, but who exploded into the spotlight with her endlessly fascinating performance as Saul’s Kim Wexler—is fresh off two nominations at this year’s Emmy’s, and is at one of those career moments where the whole industry is pretty much watching to see what she tackles next.
AppleTV+ reportedly pursued the project aggressively—hence the multi-year order—beating out a reported 8 or 9 other streamers and cable networks hoping to get a bite at Gilligan’s project (still being produced at his long-time home at Sony Pictures Television). Deadline notes that Gilligan was apparently asking for pretty hefty budgets for the show, too, reportedly naming $13.5 - $15 million per episode.
Gilligan issued a statement today, lavishing Seehorn with praise, as one does: “After 15 years, I figured it was time to take a break from writing antiheroes… and who’s more heroic than the brilliant Rhea Seehorn? It’s long past time she had her own show, and I feel lucky to get to work on it with her.”