If you were hoping for a cameo by Bryan Cranston or Aaron Paul on "Breaking Bad" spin-off "Better Call Saul," don't get your hopes up.

"Better Call Saul" executive producer Peter Gould confirmed Walter White and Jesse Pinkman won't appear in the first season of the show during a panel for the new show at the Television Critics Association Saturday (TCA).

"We want this to really stand on its own," said Gould, according to Hitfix. "We don't want to mislead people into expecting something that's not going to happen... Having said that, everything else is on the table."

According to Los Angeles Times reporter Stephen Battaglio, star Bob Odenkirk joked he asks about Cranston every time he comes into the office of the show.

"Has Walter White called yet," Odenkirk recalled.

Bob Odenkirk: Every time I come into the office on this show I say "Has Walter White called yet?"#TCA15#BetterCallSaul

— Stephen Battaglio (@SteveBattaglio) January 10, 2015

It was also noted during the panel that Pinkman's character, played by Aaron Paul, would be in late middle school or high school at this point. 

Creator Vince Gilligan told press that doesn't mean we won't see other characters from "Breaking Bad." However, you'll never see a character cameo just for the sake of a cameo.

Via Hitfix:

"Any of these characters from 'Breaking Bad' could theoretically appear in future seasons, but our hope is that when they do, it'll feel proper and organic. If it feels like a stunt, then we in the writers room have done something horribly wrong," said Gilligan.

"You also don't want to have the detail in the background distract you from what's going on in the foreground," he added. "We're trying to keep our eyes on the prize."

"Better Call Saul" takes place six years before Bob Odenkirk's lawyer Saul Goodman ever meets Walter White and his meth-making partner Jesse.

As for Cranston and Paul, it's not impossible to see them somewhere down the line on "Better Call Saul." Odenkirk told us a while back he'd love to have both of them on the show even if it meant in a background cameo.

"I don't know whether their characters matter that much or if we just need to hire you know Bryan and Aaron to walk behind me at the golf course or walk across the street when I'm driving my car around town. I don't know if they'll engage with the story, but they could," Odenkirk previously told Business Insider.

Though we won't see Walter White this season on "Better Call Saul," Cranston will be on set of the new AMC series directing a future episode.

Cranston previously directed three episodes of "Breaking Bad"— "Seven Thirty-Seven,""No Más," and 2013's "Blood Money." We're looking forward to it.

"Better Call Saul" premieres on AMC Sunday, February 8 at 10 p.m. 

SEE ALSO: Vince Gilligan's love letter to "Breaking Bad" fans about "Better Call Saul"

AND: Watch a trailer for "Better Call Saul"

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There used to be a time when, once a week, colleagues would gather around the water cooler to discuss the previous night's episode of a certain television show. When you would be left, mouth gaping, as a bombshell was dropped at the end of an episode of your favourite series; knowing you had to wait a full seven days to find out what happened next. When nobody but TV critics could publish spoilers; when all anyone could talk about for months on end was how on earth that season's drama was going to conclude.

Those days are long gone.

With the advent of on-demand services such as BBC iPlayer and Channel 4 On Demand, and internet streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Instant Video (formerly Lovefilm), how audiences follow television has fundamentally, irrevocably changed. Witness the rise of binge-watching.

Between 30 and 60 minutes of our favourite series is no longer enough to satiate our weekly appetite for screen-time. Instead, we find ourselves spending whole weekends - weeks, even - sprawled in bed or on the sofa, sleepwalking our way through hours of House of Cards (the long-awaited season three of which will be posted, in its entirety, on Netflix in February), Breaking Bad, Arrested Development and Game of Thrones.

Clicking on that teasing "Watch next episode" button has become second-nature. It's playing havoc with our social lives, work ethic and relationships - but it means we're watching more TV than ever.

It all started with the box-set. These neatly-packed gift bundles promised the saviour of the DVD industry (which continues to slump, down by 7% to $10.9bn in recent years) - but, instead, quickly migrated from the shelves of Blockbuster to the digital aisles of streaming sites, where they have been a fixture ever since.

Nowadays, around 75 per cent of TV viewers admit to binge-watching TV, according to a recent survey, and many of us can gladly reel off the box sets we've binged on - and what's next on our "to watch" list. Another study found that the ritual is the “new normal”, with 61 per cent of Netflix subscribers admitting to regular binges.

It may have turned us into a nation of sociophobic hermits, but binge-watching has also had a huge impact on the TV industry - not only how we view programmes, but what we watch and how they're made. Here are four ways in which it has changed TV forever:

1) We're watching more TV, meaning the demand for new content is higher than ever

According to the US-based TV Guide app, 24 per cent of its users watch more than 40 hours of TV per week, up from 17 per cent in 2012.

Audiences are becoming more demanding, pickier and more impatient - hence the decision by many TV conglomerates to "dump" entire series of certain shows online at a time, rather than drip-feeding us episode by episode.

2) Programs are made differently

Knowing that audiences are likely to indulge in a marathon viewing session naturally changes how producers construct programmes and whole series. There's less point in a mid-season cliffhanger, for example, if viewers are simply going to let Netflix do its thing and play the next episode 13 seconds after the previous one ends.

Actors are noticing the effects, too. Tina Fey, who is launching her next show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, on Netflix, says she finds the streaming format “freeing". Expect fewer constraints; more experiments.

3) An entire industry has built up around binge-watching

Over the festive period, you may have noticed huge advertising campaigns geared around Netflix subscriptions or TV "bundles". Why buy one old-fashioned DVD for that Secret Santa, when you could buy a whole series - and save on wrapping paper by getting it online?

Marketing and distribution formats are being dramatically altered by the rise of the digital box set. More and more series are becoming exclusive to Netflix, too.

4) Somehow, staying at home and watching TV alone has become acceptable

What used to be a losers' game is now socially accepted. Cool, even. How else would you stay on top of all the incredible shows out there? Last summer, Netflix even advertised for what many perceived as a dream job: a UK-based "tagger" - aka a professional binge-watcher whose job comprised watching endless hours of TV. And being paid for it.

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A Texas drug lord who owned a produce company that shipped large quantities of marijuana and cocaine to northern US cities was like a real-life character from the show "Breaking Bad," Rolling Stone noted this month in an article about a corrupt anti-narcotics force.

Tomas “El Gallo” Gonzalez was arrested in 2013 after a three-year investigation into his cold-storage company, T&F produce. That company, whose logo was a chicken, was a front for a major drug trafficking organization, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

For those familiar with the hit show "Breaking Bad," this trafficking ring — which lasted over three years — sounds a lot like the one run by Gus Fring, a fictitious kingpin. In the show, Fring's fast food chain Los Pollos Hermanos covers up a huge drug operation that smuggles drugs in trucks marked with a large chicken logo from a warehouse in a remote part of the desert. 

In real life, five men who drove trailers for Gonzalez told DEA agents they had often transported up to 7,000 pounds of marijuana and several 100-pound loads of cocaine while working for Gonzalez, the Monitor reported in 2013. 

The marijuana and cocaine would be packed into tractor-trailers full of vegetables and shipped from Weslaco, Texas to cities across the US. The trucks would transport drugs as far north as Iowa pretending to be an import-export business specializing in transporting produce, Rolling Stone reported.

Authorities began looking into Gonzalez's organization on July 30, 2013 when they stopped a T&F Produce tractor-trailer carrying more than 600 pounds of marijuana. 

The real-life Gus Fring had been on Homeland Security's radar for more than two years before this traffic stop allowed narcotics agents to obtain a warrant for his arrest. He was finally arrested in August 2013 at his Texas ranch in the sugarcane fields just outside of Weslaco, Rolling Stone reported.

Mexican corridas, or ballads, have immortalized Gonzalez's drug exploits, and he had made large campaign donations that did not go unnoticed, the Monitor reported. (Gus Fring on "Breaking Bad" was also in bed with public officials.)

At the entrance of his mansion Gonzalez had put signs up supporting the re-election of Hidalgo County Lupe Sheriff Treviño, who had allegedly accepted over $1 million worth of illegal campaign donations from the kingpin. Treviño was eventually sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering, according to Rolling Stone. 

Gonzalez got 10 years in federal prison in November, Fox Rio reported, though he would have received a harsher sentence had he not cooperated with authorities to help bring down Treviño. His logistics coordinator and right-hand man, pee wee football coach Omar Fidencio Rojas, received 15 years and a $300,000 fine. 

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Danny Trejo is best-known for his roles in "From Dusk Ill Dawn" and "Machete," but one of his most memorable parts was early in "Breaking Bad" when he played cartel member Tortuga (Spanish for turtle).

Business Insider briefly spoke with Trejo about the show's spinoff series, "Better Call Saul," and whether he'll be checking it out.

"Absolutely," Trejo says. "I was Tortuga!"

Fans know things didn't end so well for Tortuga on "Breaking Bad," but that doesn't mean he couldn't have another life on the upcoming AMC series.

The show will bring a few other former "Breaking Bad" alumni back from the dead including Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks).

When pressed if there's any chance of seeing him reprise his character, Trejo let out a laugh, but did say he would love the opportunity to appear on the spinoff.

"Oh sure, are you kidding? I loved that show ['Breaking Bad']," Trejo added, saying it was one of the best things he had ever been a part of.

Trejo gave a similar response to Uproxx:

"I’d love that! … Tortuga was pretty popular, so I’d love it. Let’s see what happens.”

The prequel series, starring Bob Odenkirk as lawyer Saul Goodman, will take place six years before the events of “Breaking Bad.”

"Better Call Saul" premieres on AMC Sun. Feb. 8 at 10 p.m. 

SEE ALSO: Our review of "Better Call Saul"

AND:  How Danny Trejo was convinced to play Marcia Brady in a Super Bowl ad

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"Breaking Bad" spinoff "Better Call Saul" is coming to TV in Feb. and it's probably one of the most-anticipated new series of the year. 

We've already seen it, and "Breaking Bad" fans should really enjoy it.

So it shouldn't be a big surprise the series has already been renewed for a second season.

If you can't wait for "Better Call Saul," but need to know a bit more before the show's premiere, here's everything you need to know about the spinoff.

Is this a prequel or a sequel?

The majority of the series is set in 2002, six years before Saul ever met Walter White. However, the show definitely has some elements of a sequel, too, as viewers will see in the premiere's first frew minutes. 

So, yes, you'll get to see what became of Saul Goodman after he left Walt and Jesse Pinkman.

When we spoke with Odenkirk a while back while he was doing press for his Oscar-nominated film "Nebraska," the star told us he wanted the show to be both a prequel and sequel. It looks like he got his wish.

Who will star in the spinoff?

Here's who's joining Odenkirk on the series:

Jonathan Banks will reprise his role as Mike Ehrmantraut.

Michael McKean will play Saul's older brother Chuck who is a partner at a law firm in Albuquerque.

Patrick Fabian plays Howard Hamlin while Rhea Seehorn ("Whitney") stars as Kim, two lawyers at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill.

Michael Mando ("Orphan Black") plays a criminal named Nacho Varga. 

So, what will this be about?

The show will follow Saul Goodman before he's the cocky, confident lawyer, when he's just known as Jimmy McGill. 

McGill's strapped for cash and drives a rundown car. He's trying to make a living as an honest attorney. What should follow in the series is how McGill goes from a scrappy, hungry young lawyer to a well-known name in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Why did Saul get his own spinoff?

The show has been in the works for a while in the "Breaking Bad" writers room. Creator Vince Gilligan told Hitfix it kind of started off as a joke.

It started as a lark, which is another word for joke, in the writer's room. It started and it really came from the fact that I love working with Bob, just as we love working with really every actor on “Breaking Bad.” But we also loved the character. We love writing for the character. We love putting words in his mouth. And we had so much fun indeed doing that that it started as a lark; we'd come up with some great term or phrase and we'd laugh about it in the writer's room. And then we'd say, 'You know, when we're doing the Saul Goodman show we'll be able to blah, blah, blah, blah.' And we made that comment so many times that it started to dawn on us that it wasn't a lark; there was truth to it. It was not just a joke, but a potentially good idea.

If I like "Breaking Bad," will I enjoy it?

I think you will. From what I've seen in the first two episodes (I'm waiting out to watch the third at the moment), there are plenty of nods to the original series while not feeling forced. 

You'll see a few familiar faces including Jonathan Banks, and the visuals and montages will feel straight out of "Breaking Bad."

However, don't go into this show wanting another "Breaking Bad." You'll be disappointed. This will be its own show, focused on Goodman, er Jimmy McGill's, growth into a sleazy criminal lawyer. At this year's Television Critics Association press tour, co-creator Peter Gould has said they're not going do nods to the previous show and bring back former characters just because they can do it.

"We're trying to make something that stands on its own, that has an entertainment value that's not just seeing a series of old favorites, or 'Remember when?' It's not the series equivalent of a clip show,"said Gould. "We try to balance these things out."

When will it air on AMC?

"Better Call Saul" will premiere Sun. Feb. 8 at 10 p.m. after the mid-season return of "The Walking Dead." 

After that, it will head to Monday nights at 10 p.m. starting Feb. 9.

SEE ALSO: Our review on "Better Call Saul"

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"Breaking Bad" fans don't have to wait for the premiere of "Better Call Saul" to get their fix. 

Bryan Cranston reprised his role as Walter White in the Super Bowl commercial for Esurance.

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"Breaking Bad" spinoff "Better Call Saul" premieres Sunday. and it's probably one of the most-anticipated new series of the year. 

We've already seen it, and "Breaking Bad" fans should really enjoy it.

So it shouldn't be a big surprise the series has already been renewed for a second season.

If you can't wait for "Better Call Saul," but need to know a bit more before the show's premiere, here's everything you need to know about the spinoff.

Is this a prequel or a sequel?

The majority of the series is set in 2002, six years before Saul ever met Walter White. However, the show definitely has some elements of a sequel, too, as viewers will see in the premiere's first frew minutes. 

So, yes, you'll get to see what became of Saul Goodman after he left Walt and Jesse Pinkman.

When we spoke with Odenkirk a while back while he was doing press for his Oscar-nominated film "Nebraska," the star told us he wanted the show to be both a prequel and sequel. It looks like he got his wish.

Who will star in the spinoff?

Here's who's joining Odenkirk on the series:

Jonathan Banks will reprise his role as Mike Ehrmantraut.

Michael McKean will play Saul's older brother Chuck who is a partner at a law firm in Albuquerque.

Patrick Fabian plays Howard Hamlin while Rhea Seehorn ("Whitney") stars as Kim, two lawyers at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill.

Michael Mando ("Orphan Black") plays a criminal named Nacho Varga. 

So, what will this be about?

The show will follow Saul Goodman before he's the cocky, confident lawyer, when he's just known as Jimmy McGill. 

McGill's strapped for cash and drives a rundown car. He's trying to make a living as an honest attorney. What should follow in the series is how McGill goes from a scrappy, hungry young lawyer to a well-known name in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Why did Saul get his own spinoff?

The show has been in the works for a while in the "Breaking Bad" writers room. Creator Vince Gilligan told Hitfix it kind of started off as a joke.

It started as a lark, which is another word for joke, in the writer's room. It started and it really came from the fact that I love working with Bob, just as we love working with really every actor on “Breaking Bad.” But we also loved the character. We love writing for the character. We love putting words in his mouth. And we had so much fun indeed doing that that it started as a lark; we'd come up with some great term or phrase and we'd laugh about it in the writer's room. And then we'd say, 'You know, when we're doing the Saul Goodman show we'll be able to blah, blah, blah, blah.' And we made that comment so many times that it started to dawn on us that it wasn't a lark; there was truth to it. It was not just a joke, but a potentially good idea.

If I like "Breaking Bad," will I enjoy it?

I think you will. From what I've seen in the first two episodes (I'm waiting out to watch the third at the moment), there are plenty of nods to the original series while not feeling forced. 

You'll see a few familiar faces including Jonathan Banks, and the visuals and montages will feel straight out of "Breaking Bad."

However, don't go into this show wanting another "Breaking Bad." You'll be disappointed. This will be its own show, focused on Goodman, er Jimmy McGill's, growth into a sleazy criminal lawyer. At this year's Television Critics Association press tour, co-creator Peter Gould has said they're not going do nods to the previous show and bring back former characters just because they can do it.

"We're trying to make something that stands on its own, that has an entertainment value that's not just seeing a series of old favorites, or 'Remember when?' It's not the series equivalent of a clip show,"said Gould. "We try to balance these things out."

When will it air on AMC?

"Better Call Saul" will premiere Sun. Feb. 8 at 10 p.m. after the mid-season return of "The Walking Dead." 

After that, it will head to Monday nights at 10 p.m. starting Feb. 9.

SEE ALSO: Our review on "Better Call Saul"

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NOW WATCH: Bryan Cranston returns as his 'Breaking Bad' character in a Super Bowl ad

The "Breaking Bad" spinoff "Better Call Saul" debuted Sunday night on AMC to a bunch of fan fervor. 

The show centers on Bob Odenkirk's criminal lawyer character, Saul Goodman, in his early days of the profession.

As much as we are fans of Odenkirk's, you may be wondering why it was Saul who received a spinoff series instead of maybe Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) or even Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul).

"Better Call Saul" has been in the works for a long time, going back to the days of "Breaking Bad."

However, back then, the Saul spinoff was nothing more than an inside joke in the "BB" writers' room. Creator Vince Gilligan ("Breaking Bad") described to a few media outlets including Entertainment Weekly and Hitfix how the series started off as a joke.

Here is how it was described in Entertainment Weekly:

From the moment Saul Goodman broke onto Bad in season 2, the writers loved the underhanded jester with his crafty problem-solving abilities and drawerful of burner cell phones. Soon they were cracking wise about a Saul spin-off, perhaps with a lawyer lair featuring secret panels stuffed with cash and a bat phone that rang up Supreme Court justices. 'They say all great jokes have a kernel of truth to them," says Gilligan, "and the more we made this joke, the more it became clear that there really was something here."

Gilligan gave a longer explanation to Hitfix:

It started as a lark, which is another word for joke, in the writer's room. It started and it really came from the fact that I love working with Bob, just as we love working with really every actor on "Breaking Bad." But we also loved the character. We love writing for the character. We love putting words in his mouth. And we had so much fun indeed doing that that it started as a lark; we'd come up with some great term or phrase and we'd laugh about it in the writer's room. And then we'd say, 'You know, when we're doing the Saul Goodman show we'll be able to blah, blah, blah, blah.' And we made that comment so many times that it started to dawn on us that it wasn't a lark; there was truth to it. It was not just a joke, but a potentially good idea.

"Better Call Saul" airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on AMC.

SEE ALSO: Everything you should know about "Better Call Saul"

AND: Here's the "Breaking Bad" creator's love letter to fans about spinoff "Better Call Saul"

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NOW WATCH: Bryan Cranston returns as his 'Breaking Bad' character in a Super Bowl ad

If you didn't manage to catch Sunday night's premiere of "Better Call Saul," don't worry — you can still watch the first episode for free.

Both iTunes and Amazon have the first episode "Uno" available to download for free, and you'll also be able to stream it for the next 30 days over at AMC's website.

The "Breaking Bad" spinoff has been getting fantastic reviews so far; the series has a 100% "Certified Fresh" rating over at Rotten Tomatoes, and it has a score of 78 at Metacritic.

The second episode, "Mijo," debuts Monday night at 10 p.m. EST on AMC.

You can read our full review of the first episode of "Better Call Saul"right here, or watch the extended trailer for the series below.

SEE ALSO: Find out what the No. 1 song was on the day you were born with this nifty website

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You still haven't watched "Breaking Bad"? Even after the Emmys, the national obsession, and the feverish recommendations of anyone you ask? Oh, so you watched the first two episodes and thought they were cool, but the main character was unlikable, and it seemed like a little too much to get into?

Look. If you need to be convinced that AMC's masterpiece is worth starting and sticking with, then just look at the following graph. It comes from the very useful site Graph TV, which lets you plot the IMDB ratings of any show over time.

Site founder Kevin Wu said "Breaking Bad" had one of the most dramatic graphs he has seen. Not only does it get extremely high ratings, but it keeps going up.

"It seems to just get better within each season and season by season,"Wu wrote in an email.

SEE ALSO: You should watch 'Better Call Saul'

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NOW WATCH: This Sports Illustrated swimsuit rookie could become the next Kate Upton

Vince Gilligan has had it with fans harassing the real-life owners of the home where Walter White (Bryan Cranston) lived in Breaking Bad.

Gilligan used a few minutes at the top of Tuesday's Better Call Saul Insider Podcast to urge Breaking Bad fans to be respectful when visiting the Albuquerque house now famous as the home of the White family.

See more Better Call Saul': 'Breaking Bad' Easter Eggs You Missed

The house, which was used for exterior shots of Breaking Bad, has become a tourist attraction, as have many other Breaking Bad landmarks. For the most part, its owners have been fine with fans stopping by to take photos, but things have deteriorated recently.

"Lately, we're hearing from the owner that folks are wandering on to her property, and are being rude to her when she comes out and basically says 'you're on my property,' " said Gilligan. "They are throwing pizzas on roofs and stuff like that. Let me tell you, there is nothing original or funny or cool about throwing a pizza on this lady's roof. It is just not funny. It's been done before. You are not the first."

Jonathan Banks, who plays tough guy Mike Ehrmantraut, added on the podcast, "If I catch you doing it, I will hunt you down."

See more 'Breaking Bad': 25 Most Badass Quotes

In season three's episode "Caballo Sin Nombre," Walter brought over giant pepperoni pizza to his home in an attempt to make amends with Skyler (Anna Gunn). When she rejected his overtures, he threw the pizza on the roof in frustration — with Cranston famously doing the move in one shot. The scene has become a fan favorite, but the reenactments of it have grown old fast for Gilligan and the homeowner.

"We love our fans. I don't love those fans. I don't consider them fans," said Gilligan.  

Listen to his remarks below. 

Here's the original scene:

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NOW WATCH: Bryan Cranston returns as his 'Breaking Bad' character in a Super Bowl ad

We all know "Breaking Bad" was an incredible show, and that had a lot to do with its impeccable cast. What you might not know is that one piece of that stellar ensemble was very close to not existing in that universe at all, and if it wasn't for "How I Met Your Mother," the world might have never known Mike Ehrmantraut. 

"Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" star Bob Odenkirk had a great interview with Rolling Stone recently, and when asked about how unlikely a Saul Goodman-inspired spinoff seemed to him, he shared this.  

I promise you I thought I was up for three episodes of Breaking Bad — well, they wanted me for four, but I could only do three 'cause I was in How I Met Your Mother. They actually added the character of Mike because I couldn't make that fourth week, and they needed another character to get that information across, so that's amazing right there. Thank you, How I Met Your Mother.

That’s pretty crazy, all things considered. With a winning performance from Jonathan Banks, Mike became one of the most interesting and beloved characters in the series, with a hardened presence that makes him more stoic and intimidating than nearly anyone else in the show.

To think about what "Breaking Bad" would have been like without him is almost impossible, as he was such a key point in Gus Fring's criminal organization, as well as a perfect foil for Odenkirk's Goodman to bounce his humor off of. How can this face ever not exist in Walter White's life? 

To the same end, Banks has already earned his own wonderful standalone "Better Call" Saul episode, "Five O," and seeing the foundation of his storyline is one of the things that makes this spinoff as enjoyable as its predecessor.

I mean, there's always the chance that Vince Gilligan would have found another iconic character to introduce during the run of "Breaking Bad" had Mike not first shown up in the Season 2 episode "ABQ," but I'm a much happier person not having to think about the domino effect that "No Mike" would have caused.  

At that point in the run of "Breaking Bad," Odenkirk wasn't even sure if the show or his character would make it to season three, given its low ratings and the fact that it wasn't yet at the top of pop culture conversations. He might have even figured that a steady gig as Barney's boss Arthur Hobbs on "How I Met Your Mother" seemed like the better option. Thankfully, fans can still watch Saul/Jimmy McGill and Mike doing their thing every Monday night on AMC.  

SEE ALSO: 'Breaking Bad' fans will love 'Better Call Saul'

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NOW WATCH: The 15 Best Quotes From 'Breaking Bad'

If you're a "Breaking Bad" fan, you probably remember the wheelchair-bound, DEA-hating character Hector "Tio" Salamanca, best known for his habit of ringing a small bell to communicate — one ding meant yes, two dings meant no.

Well, it turns out that somebody decided to take that idea of bell-based communication and turn it into a mobile app called Dingbel, and they've even recruited Mark Margolis, the actor who played Hector Salamanca in "Breaking Bad," to be the official spokesperson.

At its core, Dingbel is basically a spinoff of other single-button communication apps such as Yo. You can tap and double-tap on a friend in your contacts to send them a single or double ding — one ding means yes, two dings means no.

The concept of Dingbel isn't exactly new; sometimes you just need a fast way to get somebody's attention without writing a message out. So if Dingbel has any quiet brilliance, it's that the app makes the concept of a push-notification messaging app easy to understand for the general public by tying it to a use case from a popular TV show. 

Like a one-word greeting or tap on the shoulder, people can use Dingbel as both an attention-getter and as a way to receive confirmation. Want to see if a co-worker is ready to grab lunch? Send them a single ring, and if they ring you back once, they're ready to go —  twice, and you know that they're still busy.

Obviously there are a ton of possible use cases with Dingbel, but they all boil down to convincing your friends to download yet another messaging app, and I think most will find they'd rather send a quick one-word text or emoji instead.

Dingbel is available on both iPhone and Apple Watch, but the promotional video makes it clear the app is targeting the Apple Watch primarily, a natural choice seeing as the device is built upon the idea of streamlining communication and making notifications feel more personal.

You can download Dingbel for iPhone and Apple Watch over at the App Store.

SEE ALSO: A developer who was invited inside Apple's secret Watch lab explains what it was like

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NOW WATCH: The 15 Best Quotes From 'Breaking Bad'

"Breaking Bad" fans could possibly get a taste of the now wrapped series.

Apparently, there's a chance that the show's fictional Mexican restaurant, Los Pollos Hermanos, could become a real thing, show creator Vince Gilligan said during a Reddit AMA on Thursday.

“Believe it or not…there is talk of a Pollos Hermanos becoming a real restaurant,” he said. “This is not an idea that I generated personally. But it’s one that’s been presented to me, through the good folks at Sony, and the idea came to them from a businessman who has an interest in doing that.”

That businessman could be barking up the right tree.

Twister, the Albuquerque, New Mexico restaurant where "Breaking Bad" shot the Garduno's restaurant scenes had been hit with some big business from the show.

In 2013, there was a run on the restaurant's guacamole dip after "Breaking Bad" featured a tense dinner scene between Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and his wife (Anna Gunn) in which the waiter continually interrupted them with glowing praise for the restaurant's guacamole.

Reddit members began a long chain of things a restaurant based on Los Pollos Hermanos should have if it really came to fruition, including "a guy that looks like Walter White sitting alone eating,""a set of mute twins in silver suits staring into space in the corner," and "ice cream covered with blue pop rocks."

SEE ALSO: Why you should watch 'Breaking Bad' in one chart

MORE: Breaking Bad-ness: NY cherry factory hid drug op

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NOW WATCH: The 15 Best Quotes From 'Breaking Bad'

Although it's been almost two whole years since "Breaking Bad" ended it's acclaimed run on AMC, the series is still fresh in the mind of fans of another two-year old pop culture phenomenon: "Grand Theft Auto V." 

With the help of some video editing tools recently released alongside the long-awaited PC version of the game, YouTube user LioN KoLLa—real name Sachitha Harshana, who according to his Twitter bio, runs "the most-viewed YouTube channel in Sri Lanka"—painstakingly recreated a number of highlights from all five seasons of "Breaking Bad."

 Like this explosion from season 1, episode 4 where Walter White blows up a guy's car.

Like this explosion from season 1, episode 6, "Crazy Handful of Nothin'":

That's really "Breaking Bad" in a nutshell: come for the sky-blue meth, stay for the explosions. Check out the full tribute below—mild spoiler warning for those who haven't seen the entire series yet; a few scenes from the final episode are recreated here. 

SEE ALSO: Why you should watch 'Breaking Bad' in one chart

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NOW WATCH: The 15 Best Quotes From 'Breaking Bad'

New York Film Academy put together this in-depth videographic analyzing how film and television have shaped our perception of drugs, along with its possible effects on viewing audiences. 

Video courtesy of the New York Film Academy 

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It almost seemed like fate that "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan and star Bryan Cranston teamed up to create one of the greatest dramas in television history.

Long before he starred as Walter White (a.k.a. Heisenberg) on "Breaking Bad," Bryan Cranston was already making a name for himself as one of the finest actors working in television.

Meanwhile, during the 1990s, Vince Gilligan was an up-and-coming writer working on "The X-Files."

During an interview on WTF with Marc Maron, Gilligan discussed how the two first met thanks to Fox's extremely popular sci-fi drama. 

Gilligan wrote the sixth season episode "Drive," in which Bryan Cranston starred as a man on the run from the law.

"I had this part written where Agent Mulder had to be stuck in this car with this crazy guy who's threatening to kill him. And the part was tricky because he needed to be this real scary, badass guy but at the end of the hour, you had to feel sorry for him when he died," Gilligan told Maron. "And we had all these scary actors come in who could pull off the scary but they couldn't pull off the human part where you felt bad for him until ... and we were scared we were nervous because it was only a few days before it was gonna start shooting ... and this guy Bryan Cranston walks in and there was this weight lifted off of him as soon as he read because he was so good. This was like '99. And as soon as he walked out the door I said 'Off to wardrobe.'"

Gilligan's experience with Cranston was clearly special and unique. While it didn't directly inspire the idea for "Breaking Bad," that scene did keep Cranston on Gilligan's mind. 

"I never forgot him," Gilligan continued. "He was wonderful in this role. And I said even as the shoot was progressing for that episode ... and you've gotta understand we worked with a lot of great actors on 'X-Files,' but I never had that eureka experience of saying, 'I wanna work with this guy again in the future.'"

A while later, Gilligan re-discovered Cranston thanks to ads for a new show.

"And a year and a half later, after this episode airs, I'm seeing commercials on Fox for this new show called 'Malcolm in the Middle.' And I see this clean-shaven guy I didn't recognize and I'm like, 'That guy looks familiar.' And then I realized, oh my God! That's the guy from my 'Drive' episode of 'X-Files.' And I watched it and I swear my first reaction was 'I didn't know he could be funny!' Because all I knew him as was this dramatic guy ... this really intense dramatic guy." Gilligan said. 

Given that "Breaking Bad," especially in the early episodes, contained a unique balance of humor and drama, this could be a reason Gilligan thought he would be a good fit for his show. With the success of "Malcolm in the Middle," as well as his memorable stint as Dr. Tim Whatley on "Seinfeld," he became a comedy actor. Once Gilligan put him in "Breaking Bad," he went back to being known for dramas. 

It turns out, when Gilligan first pitched "Breaking Bad" to AMC with Cranston as the star, the executives were surprised by this choice. 

"There was only one actor, as far as I was concerned," recalled Gilligan. "The folks from AMC ... all they knew him from was 'Malcolm in the Middle.' And they said, 'Seriously?' And to their credit, once I showed them this 'X-Files' episode they had the opposite take on him than I had. They said, 'Wait ... this guy can be serious? He can be dramatic? I thought he could be funny.'"

Cranston has proven over and over how versatile of an actor he can be. 

"He's the whole package. He could do it all." Gilligan said.

SEE ALSO: Fox just slipped us a brand new glimpse at the new 'X-Files'

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NOW WATCH: Behold, your first look at Mulder and Scully back together again

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Citing sprawl development and a need for more Mexican-American elected officials, "Breaking Bad" actor Steven Michael Quezada said he is jumping in a heated race for county commissioner in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Quezada, who played DEA agent Steven Gomez in the hit AMC-TV series, told The Associated Press on Monday that he will make a formal announcement on Tuesday that he's seeking the Bernalillo County Commission seat.

The 52-year-old actor and comedian said he's joining in the race because he feels someone like him can make a difference in the district which includes the historic Hispanic South Valley and an area in Albuquerque's Westside where developers are seeking to build new homes.

"I think I bring a new face to the Democratic Party," said Quezada, a Democrat who is a member of the Albuquerque school board. "We need to reach out to our young people — the young Chicanos, the young Latinos — and get them involved in this process and let them know this is important."

At least three others are running for the open seat in 2016.

The Bernalillo County Commission recently voted to approve a planned community despite activists' fears the development would take water away from nearby communities. Concern of the development brought protests from South Valley farmers at commissioners' meetings.

The master plan for a nearly 22-square-mile development known as Santolina would rival some of the state's largest cities once completed in 50 years, and it comes during a period of heightened concerns over water following years of severe drought.

Quezada, who voted against the plan as a member of the Albuquerque Public Schools, said the plan lacked the needed schools at a time when the area is seeing school overcrowding.

Quezada is getting active in New Mexico Democratic Party politics just as the party is licking its wounds from a historic defeat in 2014 with the re-election of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and the GOP takeover of the New Mexico House. Other Democrats have sought Quezada's support and he has lent his voice for commercials.

But Quezada said the state party needed to go more to reach out to Latino voters, especially since New Mexico has the highest percentage of Hispanic residents in the county.

Javier Benavidez, executive director of the SouthWest Organizing Project, a group that opposed Santolina, said he was happy that Quezada and others were jumping in the commissioners' race.

"We are seeing the consequences of irresponsible development," Benavidez said. "We need leaders who are going to commit to responsible growth and not just recruit new Wal-Marts and chain restaurants."

"Breaking Bad" follows former high school teacher Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, producing methamphetamine with a former student, Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul.

___

Follow Russell Contreras at http://twitter.com/russcontreras.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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SEE ALSO: Someone made an impressive 'Breaking Bad' tribute in 'GTA 5'

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NOW WATCH: Bryan Cranston returns as his 'Breaking Bad' character in a Super Bowl ad

In the final episode of “Breaking Bad,” Walt (Bryan Cranston) gets Jesse (Aaron Paul) out of the clutches of the bad guys by creating an automatic swaying machine gun in the trunk of his car that blows them all away while he and Jesse lay protected on the floor.

In case you don’t remember, this is how it looked: 

Well, Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage of "Mythbusters" decided to put Walt’s final showdown to the test.

The duo built the M60 machine gun featured in the scene with the same equipment used on the show. They also used the same material for the wall used in the show to shoot at (with some wooden cutouts behind it representing Walt and the bad guys) to see if the bullets from the gun would actually go through the car, the wall, and hit the cutouts.

"Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan was there to keep the setting authentic.

Though he commented “you might be one Nazi shy,” referring the cutouts, he gave the setting his blessing.

With the M60 loaded with 200 live rounds of ammunition, the experiment began.

Once the final shot was fired Hyneman and Savage looked over their handiwork and found that the cutouts were hit with bullets.

And the cutout on the ground (Walt) was unharmed.

Looks like what went down in the scene was plausible.

Check it out for yourself:

SEE ALSO: 4 murderers tried to dispose of a body using a method they learned on the TV show "Breaking Bad"

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