Better call Saul…to congratulate him on his new show. AMC has confirmed that it has picked up a spin-off of Breaking Bad that will go straight to series and center on Bob Odenkirk’s sleazy lawyer Saul Goodman.
All that’s known is that the new show (currently titled Better Call Saul) will serve as a prequel to Breaking Bad, showing us Saul’s legal career before he ever met Walter White. There’s no other news on casting or when it might come to television.
The idea of a one-hour Saul-centric show could go either way. Will it disappoint Breaking Bad fans the same way Syfy’s Caprica did for Battlestar Galactica viewers? Or will the fans be able to embrace Better Call Saul as its own series?
It’s certainly good timing for Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, capitalizing on the success of the show’s final season and the fact that AMC will soon be losing his show and probably Mad Men. With the recent re-cancellation of The Killing and subpar performances by Hell on Wheels and Low Winter Sun, the network could use a new show.
It’s also quite exciting for a comedian like Odenkirk to become the leading man of his own hour-long series (which I assume will be more dramedy than drama). Will it feature other notable characters played by comedians like Saul’s bodyguard Huell (Lavell Crawford) or his associate Kuby (Bill Burr)? I can only hope so.
The news that it’s a prequel also keeps the end of Breaking Bad a mystery. When news first broke that Gilligan was working on a potential Saul spin-off, it could’ve meant he would definitely survive the final season. But now fans will have to be kept guessing. If Saul does wind up dead by the series finale, maybe the new show will be narrated by a dead Saul looking back on all the decisions that led to his demise.
For now, Breaking Bad fans can enjoy the final episodes Sundays at 9pm on AMC.
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(Image courtesy of AMC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
