April 2, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Vince Gilligan’s “Battle Creek” to premiere on CBS

Gilligan sold the script for the "Battle Creek" pilot to CBS in 2002, but the network was not able then to find the right cast to make a pilot. (Thinkstock)
Gilligan sold the script for the “Battle Creek” pilot to CBS in 2002, but the network was not able then to find the right cast to make a pilot. (Thinkstock)

“Battle Creek,” a drama about two mismatched law enforcement officers created by Vince Gilligan before he created “Breaking Bad,” premieres at 10 p.m. tonight on CBS.

Gilligan sold the script for the “Battle Creek” pilot to CBS in 2002, but the network was not able then to find the right cast to make a pilot, CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler said during the Television Critics Association press tour.

Gilligan told reporters he was visiting a castle in Scotland in 2013 with Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, Sony Pictures Television’s presidents, U.S. programming and production, when they mentioned CBS was interested in ordering “Battle Creek” as a series.

Because of Gilligan’s commitment to “Breaking Bad,” which ran on AMC from 2008-2013, winning Emmys as television’s best drama series in 2013 and 2014, “this was the first window of opportunity where he was free to really get into a conversation about producing it,” Tassler said.

Sony Pictures Television gave the script to David Shore, creator of the 2004-12 Fox medical drama “House.”

“I read it and liked it and loved the characters,” said Shore, who revised the script for tonight’s episode and became the show runner for “Battle Creek,” because Gilligan’s responsibilities as executive producer for AMC’s “Breaking Bad” spinoff “Better Call Saul” doesn’t allow him the time to be much involved with “Battle Creek.”

“Battle Creek” stars Dean Winters as an old-fashioned, cynical police detective in economically depressed Battle Creek, Michigan, who becomes partners with a newly arrived sophisticated FBI agent (Josh Duhamel).

The cast also includes Kal Penn and Edward Fordham as detectives and Janet McTeer as a police commander.

Gilligan said he began creating “Battle Creek” “thinking along the lines of” its characters, then doing the “time-honored thing that writers do,” putting “opposites together.”

“Dean’s character is sort of kind of the everyman character that most of us relate to, the underdog,” Gilligan said.

Gilligan said this summer he had never been to Battle Creek, best known as the headquarters of the cereal making Kellogg Co.

“In this fictional version of Battle Creek, it feels like a city of underdogs, a police force of underdogs,” Gilligan said.

Shore described Gilligan’s initial script as “very funny and we’re carrying that forward.”

“I want to have as much humor as possible in this,” said Shore, who won the outstanding writing in a drama series Emmy in 2005 for the “House” episode “Three Stories” and had been a producer on the long-running NBC crime and legal drama, “Law & Order.”

“I think it’s really important to the show. It’s got to be grounded. It’s got to be real. It’s got to come from the characters. I think you’ll watch the show, even though it’s about dark subjects. You will be scared at times, but you’ll have a stupid little grin on your face, I hope, at the end.”

Related Posts

Put the Phone Down: LAPD and CHP Targets Distracted Drivers in April Crackdown

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Hands-Free Law Violations Could Now Cost You More Than Just a Fine Throughout April, the Los Angeles Police Department will...

Five Arrested in Culver City After Attempted Carjacking and Vandalism Incident

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Gun, Warrants, and Broken Glass: Culver City Police Tackle Two Crimes Police arrested four juveniles in connection with an attempted...

Kim Delaney, Partner Cleared After Weekend Arrest in Marina del Rey

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Emmy-Winning Actress and Partner James Morgan Released Kim Delaney, the Emmy-winning actress recognized for her roles in NYPD Blue and...

(Video) Spending an Afternoon at Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Go To Pacpark.com For Tickets and More Information. Go To https://t.co/fDDgcY6b3e For Tickets and More Information.#amusementpark #rides #rollercoaster #summer #spring...

Matū Kai to Debut in Brentwood With Grass Fed Wagyu and Global Flair This Week

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Farm-To-Fork Beef, Wood-Fired Flavors, and Sustainability Meet on San Vicente The team behind Beverly Hills’ acclaimed steakhouse Matū will soon...

Mid-City Freeway Death Under Investigation After Caltrans Workers Find Blanket-Covered Body

April 1, 2025

April 1, 2025

Woman Discovered on 10 Freeway Shoulder Identified; CHP Launches Probe Caltrans workers discovered a woman’s dead body around 9:00 a.m....

Community Support Saves Beloved West Hollywood Café from Closure

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Packed Tables and Emotional Messages Helped Keep the Doors Open Le Petit Four, the popular Sunset Boulevard café known for...

Egg Beaters Recalled Over Possible Chemical Contamination

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Massive Liquid Egg Recall Includes California Shipments Cargill Kitchen Solutions is recalling approximately 212,268 pounds of liquid egg products after...

Los Angeles County’s Measure A Raises Sales Tax On April 1, And It’s No Joke

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Culver City, and Malibu Will See Higher Increases Starting April 1, Los Angeles County residents will...

Robbery Boast on Instagram Helps Send Beverly Hills Heist Suspect to Prison

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Flashy Post, Federal Time: Smash-and-Grab Mastermind Sentenced Ladell Tharpe, 39, received an 84-month sentence from U.S. District Judge George H....

Culver City Rolls Out Hi-Lo Siren to Warn Residents During Emergencies

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Hi-Lo Warning System Activated: Culver City Adds New Evacuation Tool In an effort to strengthen emergency preparedness and public safety,...

Union Workers at UCLA to Strike April 1 Over Staffing Shortages, Labor Disputes

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Healthcare and Research Staff at UC to Strike, Alleging Unfair Labor Practices More than 20,000 healthcare, research, and technical professionals...

School of Rock Students Shine in Winter Performance Despite Widespread Fires

March 31, 2025

March 31, 2025

Summer Camp Registration Opens Now By Susan Payne Wildfire devastation wreaked havoc in areas of Los Angeles this January with...

Full House Creator’s Cielo Drive Estate Returns With Massive Price Drop

March 30, 2025

March 30, 2025

Franklin’s Mansion, Once the Site of the Manson Tragedy, Back on Market Full House creator Jeff Franklin is returning to...

Santa Monica, Beverly Hills See Real Estate Shifts After L.A. Wildfires

March 30, 2025

March 30, 2025

Beverly Hills and Brentwood Listings Triple in Wake of January Fires Home sales and listings have shifted dramatically across Westside...