Better Call Saul (TV series)

This article is about the TV series spin-off from Breaking Bad. For the Breaking Bad episode, see Better Call Saul.

For the original score, see Better Call Saul (Original Score from the Television Series).

Official Better Call Saul logo

Better Call Saul is a television series spin-off from Breaking Bad. The first season of Better Call Saul premiered on February 8, 2015.^[1]^[2]

The series follows Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), who would eventually become Saul Goodman. It is set in 2002, six years before he became Walter White's lawyer in Breaking Bad. The series has run for a total of three seasons, with a fourth in production and scheduled for broadcast in 2018. The tone of the series is less dark than Breaking Bad and more comedic, although Vince Gilligan ensures that it will still contain drama.

Development

"'Better Call Saul tells the story of mall-based super lawyer Saul Goodman in the years before he became Walter White's attorney. From parking tickets to mass murder, from slip-and-fall to bond fraud, Saul handles it all. "

―Press release^[3]

Better Call Saul - first publicity photo — First publicly released photo from the set of *Better Call Saul*

On April 2013, it was announced that a spin-off series focusing on Saul Goodman was being developed by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and writer Peter Gould; the latter wrote the episode that introduced the character. Gilligan had considered it in a July 2012 interview: "I like the idea of a lawyer show in which the main lawyer will do anything it takes to stay out of a court of law. He'll settle on the courthouse steps, whatever it takes to stay out of the courtroom. That would be fun—I would like that."

In July 2013, Gilligan commented that the series had yet to be green-lit but he and Gould are "full speed ahead on trying to get going." In developing the series, the producers considered giving the show a half-hour format, but ultimately decided on an hour-long format. The spin-off will be produced by Sony Pictures Television and AMC, air on AMC, and serve as a prequel to Breaking Bad. During his appearance on Talking Bad, Odenkirk noted that Saul was one of the more popular characters on the show, speculating that the audience likes the character because he is the program's least hypocritical figure, and is good at his job.

James McGill billboard — Real-world billboard for James McGill (Saul's birthname) appearing in Albuquerque, NM in July 2014.

In September 2013, AMC and Sony Pictures Television confirmed that AMC have bought the rights to screen Better Call Saul in the US and that episodes would be one hour long.^[4] In December 2013 Netflix announced it had secured the rights to stream the series in all territories after the first season finale airs in 2014.^[5]

In January 2014, it was announced that Jonathan Banks would be reprising his role as Mike Ehrmantraut as a series regular.^[6] On June 19, 2014 the first official set photo was released, featuring Bob Odenkirk, Vince Gilligan, and Peter Gould. It was also announced on the same day that Better Call Saul was renewed for a second season, but the first season was pushed back until the first quarter of 2015. Thomas Schnauz and Gennifer Hutchison, both of which worked on Breaking Bad were confirmed for the writing staff of the spin-off.^[1]

Casting

In a press release, AMC confirmed the line-up of series regulars for Better Call Saul, set to premiere in early 2015. Joining Odenkirk are Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad, Wiseguy) as “fixer” Mike Ehrmantraut, Michael McKean (This is Spinal Tap) as Chuck McGill, Rhea Seehorn (Franklin & Bash, House of Lies) as Kim Wexler, Patrick Fabian (Big Love, Grey’s Anatomy) as Howard Hamlin and Michael Mando (Orphan Black, The Killing) as Nacho Varga – characters that will represent both legitimate and illegitimate sides of the law.