At the end of Sunday night’s Breaking Bad premiere, viewers saw the words “Dedicated to our friend Kevin Cordasco.” It turns out that Kevin was a big fan of the series who died in March after a battle with cancer.
Kevin was a junior at Calabasas High School and had been battling neuroblastoma, a rare cancer, for seven years when he died on March 11. He was diagnosed at age 9 and went through experimental treatments, surgeries and other procedures.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, his godmother, Mary Anderson, had a friend at a talent agency and through a chain of friends, Kevin’s story reached the Breaking Bad crew. Last September, he got to meet star Bryan Cranston at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and they spent three hours together.
The LA Times reports that Kevin also got to meet creator Vince Gilligan and other members of the cast. They even offered him a trip to the sent in Albuquerque, but his condition meant that he had to turn it down.
Gilligan “thought he was such a smart, thoughtful young man and thought he had truly interesting insights on the show,” co-executive producer Melissa Bernstein told the Daily News, noting that the dedication was Gilligan’s idea. “He thought that it would be a fitting tribute and hopefully, something that Kevin would get a real kick out of.”
Kevin was even offered a chance to read the script to see how the show ended, but he turned it down because he would rather see it when everyone else did. “He said ‘Mom, I want to see it myself and I don’t trust myself — I might tell people,’” his mother, Melodie Cordasco recalled.
“It was just heartwarming; I know my son was sitting there, watching it (saying) ‘Mom, Look, I made it!’” Melodie told the Daily News. “It was overwhelming — the feeling, the love and support.”
You can check out our recap of Sunday’s episode here.