As one of AMC’s best original series to date, Better Call Saul is ramping up for its sixth and final season, and fans are ready for it to be a deadly one. As one of many big TV shows ending in 2022, Saul will close the second chapter of the Breaking Bad universe, giving its highly talented cast ample opportunity to take the charge with new projects. For Bob Odenkirk, the post-Albuquerque era will take him back to his comedic roots for a high-profile reteaming with Mr. Show co-creator David Cross, and it won’t be on either Netflix or HBO.
Bob Odenkirk and David Cross are bringing their brilliant minds together again for a new faux docuseries for Paramount+ titled Guru Nation, and it sounds like subject matter very much in their wheelhouse. The comedians will serve as co-creators for the project, as announced at the streaming service’s TCA press tour day (via TheWrap), with Borat 2 director Jason Woliner helming episodes for the new series.
While details aren’t exactly overflowing at the moment, the basic premise for Guru Nation will see Odenkirk and Cross facing off as rival gurus who have both been successful with “manipulating the minds” of their brainwashed tribes. Through Mr. Show and many of their other projects, Odenkirk and Cross have mastered the art of portraying cult-of-personality figures and situations, and the more buffoonish those figures are meant to be, the better.
While Mr. Show definitely isn’t the only time this pair has worked together over the years — their writing work on The Ben Stiller Show even predates the “cult” HBO sketch series — this new streaming series only marks the third time they’ve co-created a small screen project together. The second would be the similarly absurd sketch comedy W/ Bob and David, one of Netflix’s many cancelled-too-soon shows. That said, they did co-write and co-star in the 2002 spinoff feature Run Ronnie Run, even if it’s not necessarily remembered as a genre classic. (“Y’all brutalizin’ me,” is a quote for the ages, regardless.)
Jason Woliner is certainly a proper choice to handle directing duties for the new series, too. The biggest clue there is that he was behind all four episodes of W/ Bob and David, so he's used to Bob Odenkirk and David Cross' styles. But he's also worked on other top-notch series such as What We Do in the Shadows, The Last Man on Earth, Human Giant, and Eagleheart, to name but a few. So the Borat of it all is the icing on the cake, and it'll be interesting to see if Guru Nation films in a similar fashion.
The streaming service also announced Dear White People’s Justin Simien as the writer and director for the episodic Flashdance remake, as well as the greenlight confirmation for the TV remake of Urban Cowboy, which has been in the works since 2015. As well, Mayor of Kingstown, SEAL Team and The Game all scored season renewals, so no more worries about any of those shows for at least another year.
No kinds of schedules or dates were part of the Guru Nation reveal, and it’s assumed that Bob Odenkirk will need to be finished with all things Better Call Saul before filming can begin. (Though that doesn’t mean he can’t dig into the writing process in the meantime, though we hope things don’t get too stressful and cause more health problems.) While waiting to hear more news, check out our 2022 TV premiere schedule to stay updated on everything hitting the small screen soon.
