Better Call Saul


Better Call Saul is an American neo-noir legal crime drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould for AMC. Part of the Breaking Bad franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, Breaking Bad, to which it serves primarily as a prequel, with some scenes taking place during and after the events of Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul premiered on AMC on February 8, 2015, and ended on August 15, 2022, after six seasons, totaling 63 episodes.
Set primarily in the early to mid-2000s in Albuquerque, New Mexico, several years before the events of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul examines the ethical decline of Jimmy McGill, an aspiring lawyer and former con artist who becomes the egocentric criminal-defense attorney Saul Goodman alongside his romantic interest and colleague Kim Wexler, while dealing with conflicts with his brother Chuck McGill and Chuck's law partner Howard Hamlin. The show also follows Mike Ehrmantraut, a former corrupt police officer who becomes a fixer and enforcer for drug traffickers, such as drug dealer Nacho Varga, and drug lord Gus Fring. The latter half of the show introduces cartel enforcer Lalo Salamanca, who becomes a major antagonist to both Jimmy and Mike. In addition to the primary storyline, Better Call Saul includes black-and-white flashforwards set in 2010, after the events of Breaking Bad, which explore the consequences of Saul's actions across both series. Odenkirk, Banks, and Esposito reprise their roles from Breaking Bad, as do many others in guest appearances.
Gilligan, who created and developed Breaking Bad, and Gould, who wrote the Breaking Bad episode "Better Call Saul", began considering a Saul Goodman spin-off in 2009. Because Saul's role in Breaking Bad had expanded beyond the writing staff's plans, Gilligan felt he could be explored further. He and Gould considered making a half-hour legal comedy featuring Saul and his various clients, but settled on an hour-long tragedy showing how he develops into the character seen in Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul development began during the production of Breaking Bad final season in 2013, with Gilligan and Gould serving as co-showrunners and numerous production staff returning. Gilligan left Better Call Saul as a writer early in the third season—making Gould the sole showrunner for the remainder of its run—though he continued to direct episodes, and returned to help write the final season.
Better Call Saul received critical acclaim, with praise for its acting, characters, writing, direction, and cinematography. Many reviewers have considered it a worthy successor to Breaking Bad—some deeming it superior to its predecessor—and one of the greatest television series of all time. It has garnered many accolades, including 2 Peabody Award nominations, 53 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, 19 Writers Guild of America Award nominations, 20 Critics' Choice Television Award nominations, 9 Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and 6 Golden Globe Award nominations. At the time of its airing, the series premiere held the record for the highest-rated scripted series premiere in basic cable history.

Premise

Better Call Saul is a spin-off of Breaking Bad, a popular crime drama television series that ran from 2008 to 2013. It is primarily a prequel that focuses on Jimmy McGill, a former con artist aiming to gain respectability as a public defender, and chronicles his gradual transformation into his eventual Breaking Bad persona of Saul Goodman, the flamboyant criminal lawyer with ties to the drug cartel. Most of the show takes place over a two-year period before the events of Breaking Bad, spanning approximately 2002 to 2004.
Jimmy is inspired by his older brother Chuck McGill to leave his Chicago-area conman past, when he was known as "Slippin' Jimmy". He initially works in the mailroom at his brother's Albuquerque law firm, Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill, where managing partner Howard Hamlin becomes his nemesis. While at HHM Jimmy befriends Kim Wexler, a fellow mailroom employee who completes law school and becomes one of the firm's associates, and their friendship later turns romantic. Jimmy is motivated by Chuck's success to finish college and complete a Juris Doctor degree through a correspondence law school, the University of American Samoa.
After attaining admission to the bar but being denied employment at HHM, Jimmy's pursuits focus on low-paying clients, including working as a public defender. He later begins to build a practice in elder law, which leads to a prolonged lawsuit against a nursing home chain when he discovers it is defrauding its clients. He and Chuck begin working together on a class-action suit, which Chuck quickly turns over to HHM, squeezing out Jimmy. Jimmy begins to unravel due to Chuck's constant belittling, sabotage, and vindictive behavior toward him. Jimmy's life and career begin to intersect with the illegal narcotics trade and feature characters and story arcs that continue into Breaking Bad.
Among these arcs is the uneasy relationship between rival members of a drug cartel. On one side is Gus Fring, a fried chicken company entrepreneur whose restaurant chain is a front business for his narcotics distribution. On the other are the Salamancas, a Mexican crime family who claim to have begun the drug trade in New Mexico. They are led by Hector Salamanca, and later by his nephew Lalo Salamanca. Those caught up in the conflict between Gus and the Salamancas include Ignacio "Nacho" Varga, a Salamanca associate who wants to protect his father from harm, and Mike Ehrmantraut, a former Philadelphia police officer who becomes a fixer for Gus but also has ties to Jimmy. As his interactions with criminals continue, Jimmy takes on the persona of the colorful Saul Goodman, and he starts to draw on his conman past while his work as an attorney goes from questionable to unethical to illegal.
In addition to selected scenes that take place within the Breaking Bad timeline in 2008, the show includes flashforwards, shown in black and white, to events following Breaking Bad. Taking place in 2010, these flashforwards show Jimmy living as a fugitive under the identity of Gene Takavic, the manager of a Cinnabon store in Omaha, Nebraska. The flashforwards constitute the opening scenes of the first five season premieres, and make up nearly the entirety of the episodes towards the end of the series.

Cast and characters

Main cast

  • Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill / Saul Goodman / Gene Takavic, a lawyer, former scam artist, and Chuck McGill's younger brother, who becomes involved with the criminal world.
  • Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut, a former Philadelphia police officer working as a parking lot attendant at the Albuquerque courthouse, and later a private investigator, bodyguard and "cleaner".
  • Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler, a lawyer who became a close friend of Jimmy's as she worked her way through the ranks at the Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill law firm. She becomes Jimmy's confidante and later the two develop a romantic relationship and marry.
  • Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin, the managing partner at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill, who appears to be Jimmy's nemesis until it becomes clear that he was acting under Chuck McGill's orders.
  • Michael Mando as Nacho Varga, an intelligent, ambitious member of Hector Salamanca's drug ring who also works for his father's upholstery shop.
  • Michael McKean as Chuck McGill, Jimmy's older brother and a founding partner of HHM who is confined to his home because of his electromagnetic hypersensitivity and expresses disdain for his brother's legal career given his con artist past.
  • Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Fring, the owner of the fast food restaurant chain Los Pollos Hermanos, which is actually a front to distribute cocaine for the Mexican cartel, in uneasy cooperation with the Salamanca family. He nurses grudges against cartel boss Don Eladio and Salamanca patriarch Hector Salamanca. Fring wants to switch from cocaine to locally produced methamphetamine so he can end his dependence on the cartel.
  • Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca, Hector's charismatic and sociopathic nephew, who helps run the family drug business after Hector's stroke. He is the cousin of Tuco, Leonel, and Marco.

    Recurring cast

Introduced in season 1

  • Kerry Condon as Stacey Ehrmantraut, Mike's widowed daughter-in-law and the mother of Kaylee Ehrmantraut
  • Faith Healey, Abigail Zoe Lewis and Juliet Donenfeld as Kaylee Ehrmantraut, Mike's granddaughter
  • Eileen Fogarty as Mrs. Nguyen, owner of a nail salon which houses Jimmy's law office in its utility room
  • Peter Diseth as Deputy District Attorney Bill Oakley
  • Joe DeRosa as Dr. Caldera, a veterinarian with ties to the criminal underworld
  • Dennis Boutsikaris as Rich Schweikart, a partner at Schweikart & Cokely
  • Mark Proksch as Daniel "Pryce" Wormald, a drug company employee who begins supplying Nacho and hires Mike as security
  • Brandon K. Hampton as Ernesto, Chuck's assistant who works at HHM
  • Josh Fadem as Marshall/Joey Dixon, one of the three University of New Mexico film students who help Jimmy film various projects
  • Julian Bonfiglio as Phil, one of the three UNM film students Jimmy hires for various film projects
  • Jeremy Shamos and Julie Ann Emery as Craig and Betsy Kettleman, a county treasurer and his wife, accused of embezzlement
  • Steven Levine and Daniel Spenser Levine as Lars and Cal Lindholm, twin skateboarders and small-time scam artists
  • Míriam Colón as Abuelita Salamanca, Tuco's grandmother and Hector's mother
  • Barry Shabaka Henley as Detective Sanders, a Philadelphia cop who was formerly partnered with Mike on the force
  • Mel Rodriguez as Marco Pasternak, Jimmy's best friend and partner-in-crime in Cicero, Illinois
  • Clea DuVall as Dr. Cruz, a doctor who treats Chuck and suspects his electromagnetic hypersensitivity condition is psychosomatic
  • Jean Effron as Irene Landry, an elderly client of Jimmy McGill overcharged by the Sandpiper Crossing elder care home
  • Steven Ogg as Sobchak, a gun-for-hire and clandestine detective who also goes by the pseudonym "Mr. X"