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In “Breaking Bad,” we last see criminal lawyer Saul Goodman in the penultimate episode, “Granite State.” Like Walter White/Heisenberg (Bryan Cranston), he employs the services of Ed (Robert Forster), a professional who specializes in relocating wanted people and giving them new identities. Saul laments that thanks to Walt, his glory days are over: “From here on out, I’m mister low profile. Just another douchebag with a job and three pairs of Dockers. If I’m lucky, three months from now, best case scenario, I’m managing a Cinnabon in Omaha.”
Then came the prequel/sequel series “Better Call Saul” (is the whole series a flashback, or select scenes flashforwards?). The very first scene shows this is exactly what happened to Saul (now going by “Gene Takovic”). When I first saw this, it felt a little too cutesy and on-the-nose, but it was an easily forgotten complaint.
Peter Gould (writer/director of “Granite State” and co-creator of “Better Call Saul”) recently shared a snapshot of an early episode script draft on Bluesky. Dated February 15, 2013 (seven months before “Granite State” premiered that September), the draft contains Walt and Saul’s last scene, with one key difference. Saul guesses he’ll be managing a Hot Topic store in Omaha, referring to the pop-punk clothing store. Why the change? As Gould explained, the Hot Topic reference would’ve been tacky as the store carried real “Breaking Bad” merchandise.
So, Cinnabon it was. The “Better Call Saul” team initially didn’t know what the show’s premise would be (at one point, they considered making it a half-hour comedy). They decided to take Saul’s last words literally, though, because Cinnabon turned out to be as eager a partner to “Better Call Saul” as Goodman was to Heisenberg.
Better Call Saul sure was a Hot Topic!
The line-swap from Hot Topic to Cinnabon hadn’t been cleared with the latter brand, but they seized on the surprise chance to be associated with America’s hottest show. First, the manager of the Cinnabon Twitter account tweeted a link to the company’s career page at Bob Odenkirk’s account:
. @mrbobodenkirk When you’re ready http://t.co/fynwXF6W9c #BreakingBad
— Cinnabon (@Cinnabon) September 23, 2013
As reported by News Nation Now, this was the beginning of a close collaboration between AMC and Cinnabon. Actual Cinnabon employees would help prep the “Better Call Saul” set and the brand’s social media team continued cross-promotion and in-jokes about “Better Call Saul.”
NOW HIRING: General Manager in Omaha, Nebraska https://t.co/3OnH52qsly
— Cinnabon (@Cinnabon) August 16, 2022
I get why Omaha was the location Gould chose for Saul’s future. It’s almost the literal middle of the United States for one, and so comes with an “Anytown” feel. Plus, being the biggest city in Nebraska is very much a big fish in a small pond. The city is similar to Albuquerque, New Mexico (the primary setting of “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul”) in that way.
It is amusing how Gould cut a Hot Topic reference to avoid the appearance of commercialism, yet Cinnabon product placement wound up playing a major role in “Better Call Saul.” Then again, it’s not the most enthusiastic endorsement. The “Better Call Saul” Omaha scenes are rendered in greyscale, showing how the color has evaporated from Jimmy’s now monotonous life. It’s a visual representation of how the world feels for anyone working a dead-end job day in and day out. The cinnamon rolls in “Better Call Saul” often look delicious, but the lives of the people baking them, less so. Is Saul’s ultimate “Crime and Punishment” style fate a better or worse life than managing that Omaha Cinnabon? You decide.
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