Three-time Emmy winner Aaron Paul, formerly Bryan Cranston’s sidekick on Breaking Bad, will produce and star in Hulu original series The Way. The first major role since starring as Jesse Pinkman will feature Paul, as Eddie Cleary, alongside Michelle Monaghan as his wife, Sarah. In the Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights, Parenthood) drama, Cleary converts to a ‘controversial movement’ and ‘suffers a crisis of faith’ when his new faith changes his life.
The Way focuses in on the Cleary’s family as they come to terms with relationships, marriage, and power as they dive into a new faith. Each of the 10 episodes will “take an in-depth look at what it means to choose between the life we live and the life we want,” according to Variety.
It will be Paul’s return to primetime TV after spending 2014 performing in mediocre films like Need for Speed and Exodus: Gods and Kings. And it’ll be a departure from Breaking Bad, even though he joked — and then apologized — about plans for a spin-off of the hit series. We’re sure, though, that his character in The Way will utilize some of the same raw emotion that made him such a dynamic character in Breaking Bad.
Hulu snagged The Way from Universal Television and Katims’ True Jack Productions in an effort to grow its original programming. Also in the pipeline on the streaming service are Stephen King and J.J. Abrams’ 11/22/63 starring James Franco, Amy Poehler-produced comedy Different People starring Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner, and the revival of The Mindy Project.
The drama, which was executive produced by Jessica Goldberg (also of Parenthood), Katims and Michelle Lee, will begin production this summer for a planned debut this winter. In the meantime, catch Aaron Paul when he returns to Netflix’s BoJack Horseman for its second season on July 17.
