A big part of the job of being a showrunner is, in my way of thinking, being a good communicator because there's really no other way to have hope for getting what you want, at the end of the day.
Vince GilliganRead
A typical TV show is always about protecting the franchise - it's all about stretching it out as long as you can take it. And it's about taking the characters in any given hour as far as you can take them, but then resetting them more or less back to zero so at the beginning of the next week, so they're still the character you know and love.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote discusses the formulaic nature of TV shows that prioritize franchise longevity over character development.
Vince Gilligan's quote highlights a common trend in television where shows prioritize the sustainability of their franchise by extending storylines and character arcs, only to revert characters back to their original states by the next episode. This cyclical approach allows audiences to feel comfort and familiarity with their favorite characters while maintaining the show's ongoing success, but can hinder deeper character growth and storytelling.
Themes
Tv ShowsFranchiseCharactersStorytellingDevelopment
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a discussion about the quality of modern television storytelling.
More from Vince Gilligan
All quotes →You don't make a movie by yourself; you certainly don't make a TV show by yourself. You invest people in their work. You make people feel comfortable in their jobs; you keep people talking.
Vince GilliganRead
I never thought anyone would come up to me and say, 'I like 'Better Call Saul' better than 'Breaking Bad.'' If you had asked me before we started, 'Would that bother you if someone said that?' First of all, I would have said, 'That's never gonna happen. And yeah, it probably would bother me.' It doesn't bother me a bit. It tickles me. I love it.
Vince GilliganRead
The sad truth is, there's more Walter White in me than I'd care to admit, because if I truly was as kind as people think I am, I wouldn't be able to write Walter White.
Vince GilliganRead
For many decades - and this was reinforced by the broadcast networks' standards-and-practices department - bad guys on TV had to get their comeuppance, and good guys had to be brave and true and unconflicted. Those were the laws of the business.
Vince GilliganRead
I'm very glad people love 'Breaking Bad,' but the harder character to write is the good character that's as interesting and as engaging as the bad guy.
Vince GilliganRead
Similar quotes
You are writing for your contemporaries - not for Posterity. If you are lucky, your contemporaries will become Posterity.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
For the slow labor of realizing a potential gift the artist must retreat to those Bohemias, halfway between the slums and the library, where life is not counted by the clock and where the talented may be sure they will be ignored until that time, if it ever comes, when their gifts are viable enough to be set free and survive in the world.
Lewis HydeRead
Shadow is a colour as light is, but less brilliant; light and shadow are only the relation of two tones.
Paul CezanneRead
I only know how to approach a place by walking. For what does a street photographer do but walk and watch and wait and talk, and then watch and wait some more, trying to remain confident that the unexpected, the unknown, or the secret heat of the known awaits just around the corner.
Alex WebbRead
If the audience, in minute 50, is thinking about the way a movie is shot, there's a problem. I want it to permeate emotionally.
Alejandro Gonzalez InarrituRead
The calling of art is to extract us from our daily reality, to bring us to a hidden truth that's difficult to access - to a level that's not material but spiritual.
Abbas KiarostamiRead