All the ‘Weeds‘ fans out there, it’s time to go back in time and recall the story of Nancy Botwin from the California suburbs. It was all about how a widowed mom like her started selling marijuana only to sustain her family. Initially, it seemed like everything any parent would do. But once you are nearing the climax, the business she was running would have given you chills.
Sure, ‘Weeds‘ became a huge hit, but it gained so much attention that it almost could have shut down the creation of ‘Breaking Bad‘. As ‘Weeds‘ already nailed the ‘suburban parent turns drug dealer‘ concept, it hit Vince Gilligan hard to discover that ‘Breaking Bad‘s theme had already been used. It disappointed him so much that he decided not to move ahead with ‘Breaking Bad‘ at all. But thankfully, he did. So, what ultimately motivated him to do so?
Vince Gilligan Didn’t Want To Move Forward With ‘Breaking Bad’
Gilligan approached ‘Breaking Bad‘ as a story about how an ordinary man can transform into a villain once he’s pushed to the edge. His protagonist, Walter White, was just an ordinary man who was a high-school teacher diagnosed with cancer and forced to deal with meth to secure his family’s future. But before he could even pitch his own idea, he found out about the plot of ‘Weeds,’ and nothing could have been more devastating for him.
Related: Bryan Cranston Speaks Up About Walter White’s Possible ‘Breaking Bad’ Future
The only difference is that Gilligan’s protagonist was a man, while ‘Weeds‘ featured a woman. Other than that, both plots seemed dangerously close to Gilligan. Later, in an interview, Gilligan said that if he had known about Weeds before, he would have scrapped the idea of ‘Breaking Bad‘ completely. But back then, Gilligan couldn’t get rid of the story he had given so much to. And all it took was a closer look at both the plots.
How ‘Breaking Bad’ Actually Happened
When on the verge of almost backing down from ‘Breaking Bad‘, Gilligan understood the stark difference between the two plots. The plot of ‘Weeds‘ was a satire. Viewers could relate to how it made us all laugh at the absurdity of suburban life. Sure, the protagonist, Nancy, was flawed, but her world, as shown, was chaotic and colorful.
In case you missed it: The ‘Breaking Bad’ Scene That Shattered Both Bryan Cranston And Walter White
In comparison, Breaking Bad’s plot was tragic. After understanding ‘Weeds,’ Gilligan wanted to strip away the humor and show the terrifying side of the show. Majorly, his goal was to point out the moral decay and terrifying side of the plot. And that’s it. That was all it took to change Gilligan’s decision. In the end, ‘Breaking Bad‘ turned out to be something entirely different from ‘Weeds.’
‘Breaking Bad‘ premiered in 2008, almost three years after Weeds. Even though ‘Weeds‘ had already charmed us, that didn’t take away ‘Breaking Bad‘s thunder anyway. Thinking about it now, we can only wonder how things would have been if we had never gotten the chance to watch ‘Breaking Bad.’
