ABSTRACT
To what extent have indie filmmakers recruited into ‘quality’ television made a distinctive mark on the series to which they have contributed and how exactly does an individual filmmaker fit into the ongoing processes involved in the production of long-form television?
This chapter explores these and related questions through a case study focused on three episodes of Breaking Bad (AMC, 2008-13) directed by Rian Johnson, who was first approached by the producers of the series after the release of his debut film, the low-budget indie high-school noir, Brick (2005). It examines points of similarly expressive stylization in the film and Johnson-directed Breaking Bad episodes but also suggests that these are consistent with the approach of the series as a whole – implying that the filmmaker was recruited less as a source of something distinctly different than because of an existing fit between the series and the aesthetic with which he was associated at the time.
Such issues are also situated within the broader context of the claims made for the higher cultural status of products such as indie film and ‘cinematic’ television.
