Saul Goodman Almost Worked at Hot Topic, ‘Breaking Bad’ Script Draft Reveals

“Better Call Saul” begins with a black-and-white sequence showing Saul Goodman working at a Cinnabon in an Omaha mall. Saul has the new identity of Gene Takavic and is in hiding after the events of “Breaking Bad,” before the spinoff series goes back to before he ever met Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. The scene is a make-good on a promise made in the penultimate episode of “Breaking Bad,” when Saul (Bob Odenkirk) and Walter (Bryan Cranston) are waiting to enter witness protection and Saul says, “If I’m lucky, a month from now, best case scenario, I’m managing a Cinnabon in Omaha.”

But according to a script draft of that “Breaking Bad” episode, Saul almost worked at Hot Topic instead. In that early draft, posted by “Better Call Saul” co-creator and showrunner Peter Gould on the social media site Bluesky, Saul tells Walt, “From here on out, I’m Mr. Low Profile — just another douchebag with a job and three pairs of Dockers. I mean, a month from now, best case scenario, I’m managing a Hot Topic in Omaha.”

More from Variety

Gould wrote on Bluesky, “In fact, we found out that Hot Topic was carrying #BreakingBad stuff and we didn’t want to make it look like a cheap promo. So Cinnabon it was! (And they had no idea about it until the episode aired).”

Replying to a fan who said that “Cinnabon is definitely a funnier word” than Hot Topic, Gould added: “Couldn’t agree more! And the Cinnabon folks were super-generous to us.”

As each season of “Better Call Saul” featured a glimpse into the future of Jimmy McGill, aka Saul Goodman, aka Gene Takavic, Cinnabon became a prominent set piece in the show. The bakery offered several promotions tied to “Saul,” giving away free cinnamon rolls to fans of the series.

https://bsky.app/profile/petergould.bsky.social/post/3l5i6voxkmi2s

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.