george vincent "vince" gilligan jr. (born february 10, 1967) is an american television writer, producer and director. he is best known for creating the amc drama series "breaking bad" (2008–2013) and its spin-off "better call saul" (2015–present). he also wrote and produced for the science fiction series "the x-files" and was one of the creators of its spin-off "the lone gunmen" (2001).