Bob Odenkirk and Giancarlo Esposito may finally be done with the world of Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad; however, the pair are confirmed to return to the AMC Network with two new shows. Straight Man and Parish were just officially announced with a greenlight from AMC and will air sometime in 2023.
AMC and Esposito released a brief teaser to go along with the official announcements, saying, 'Saul and Gus may be leaving, but Bob and Giancarlo aren't going anywhere. Two new series. Straight Man starring Bob Odenkirk. Parish starring Giancarlo Esposito. Coming 2023.'
Straight Man has long been in the works for the network, with Variety first reporting the news in April this year. The series is based on the novel by Richard Russo of the same name. Straight Man will follow Odenkirk's character, William Henry Devereaux Jr. as the unlikely chairman of the English department in a badly underfunded Pennsylvanian college. Straight Man is adapted by Aaron Zelman and Paul Lieberstein, who will also serve as showrunners for the series. Odenkirk will executive produce along with his role as the leading man.
Giancarlo Esposito will star in Parish for AMC; right now, not much is known about the show. However, as first reported by Deadline, Esposito was set to star in another show for the network, The Driver. The series would follow his character, Vince, a taxi driver whose life is turned upside down when he agrees to chauffer the New Orleans-based Zimbabwean gangster, 'The Horse,' a man notorious for exploiting undocumented immigrants at U.S. southern ports. It's unclear whether The Driver had a name change to Parish or if the two shows are entirely separate.
AMC Heads Into a New Era in 2023
Breaking Bad was released in 2008, and stories within the universe have continued until 2022 with the spinoff, Better Call Saul. AMC has leaned on the critical and financial success of the series for years. However, creator Vince Gilligan recently confirmed they wouldn't be doing anything else with the characters for quite a while. Additionally, with the longtime show The Walking Dead wrapping up its final season on the network, AMC is forced to produce several hit series to maintain the viewer base they've kept since 2008.
Straight Man and Parish may be just what the network needs to sustain their success in 2023, but that all relies on the quality of their future shows. A tremendous amount of pressure will be put on the new series to perform, as AMC is used to high ratings on programs like Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead. So tune into the network next year to determine whether AMC will focus on quantity or quality with their upcoming projects.