'Breaking Bad' creator cops to next project

Gary Levin | USA TODAY

Breaking Bad wraps up its storied run on AMC Sunday night, but creator Vince Gilligan has already lined up his next project.

GIlligan will team with producer David Shore (House) on Battle Creek, a new CBS series about two Michigan cops faced with a question, according to a description released by the network:

"Is cynicism, guile and deception enough to clean up the semi-mean streets of Battle Creek, Michigan, in the face of a complete lack of resources; or is the exact opposite true -- it takes naïveté, trust and a boatload of resources?"

In an unusual move, the show -- which CBS first began developing in 2002, well before Breaking Bad -- has been given a guaranteed 13-episode on-air commitment, forgoing the usual pilot process, for the 2014-15 season. Gilligan created the show, and is interested in directing the first episode, but Shore will act as day-to-day executive producer.

Also this week, Fox snapped up a new series from Warner Bros. TV based on a DC Comics franchise, and has also given it a guaranteed 13-episode run.

Gotham focuses on Commissioner Gordon from the Batman series, though it takes place as a prequel, while he was still a police detective and before he met Batman, who is not expected to appear. Bruno Heller (The Mentalist) will produce the series.

Neither show has begun casting.