I'm curious what it takes to break into the world of writing for existing TV shows. Can you sell scripts written on spec for shows like this?
You can't sell a script for a show to the show itself. In fact, the staff isn't even allowed to read it for legal reasons (if they happen to conceive a similar idea, they're worried you'll sue them later).
However, an agent could shop your script to other shows to demonstrate that you're able to integrate well into a world you didn't create. It's rather strange: If you want to write for Breaking Bad, you should write a script for The Wire.
I however, would not have given up my childhood for any amount of success or achievement. That stuff could have waited. I'm not even the least bit jealous of him because it's clear that him and I had different value systems. I had so much fun trading pokemon cards with my friends and running around in the neighborhood park. Screw going to Stanford at 15.
I do want to make it very very clear that this is not a criticism of Blake. I have tremendous respect for his accomplishments and his hilarious screenwriting. I just wanted to point out that it's not all roses and that people can frame these achievements in the context of different value systems.
It's not super sexy anymore, but if you ever want to write/learn anything about the silicon (semiconductor) part of "Silicon" Valley, let me know!
You ever listen to the Sam and Jim go to Hollywood podcast? Awesome stuff, not least because now they're showrunners for a major Steven-King backed television program and when they started they were just former Minnesotan restaurant owners who moved to Hollywood to try to become writers.