+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

Everything you should know about 'Better Call Saul' before it premieres Sunday

Feb 6, 2015, 20:44 IST

Ben Leuner/AMCBob Odenkirk is returning to TV as Saul Goodman in February.

"Breaking Bad" spinoff "Better Call Saul" premieres Sunday. and it's probably one of the most-anticipated new series of the year.

Advertisement

We've already seen it, and "Breaking Bad" fans should really enjoy it.

So it shouldn't be a big surprise the series has already been renewed for a second season.

If you can't wait for "Better Call Saul," but need to know a bit more before the show's premiere, here's everything you need to know about the spinoff.

Is this a prequel or a sequel?
Ursula Coyote / AMC

The majority of the series is set in 2002, six years before Saul ever met Walter White. However, the show definitely has some elements of a sequel, too, as viewers will see in the premiere's first frew minutes.

Advertisement

So, yes, you'll get to see what became of Saul Goodman after he left Walt and Jesse Pinkman.

When we spoke with Odenkirk a while back while he was doing press for his Oscar-nominated film "Nebraska," the star told us he wanted the show to be both a prequel and sequel. It looks like he got his wish.

Who will star in the spinoff?

Here's who's joining Odenkirk on the series:

Jonathan Banks will reprise his role as Mike Ehrmantraut.

Advertisement

Michael McKean will play Saul's older brother Chuck who is a partner at a law firm in Albuquerque.

Patrick Fabian plays Howard Hamlin while Rhea Seehorn ("Whitney") stars as Kim, two lawyers at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill.

Michael Mando ("Orphan Black") plays a criminal named Nacho Varga.

Ben Leuner/AMC

So, what will this be about?

The show will follow Saul Goodman before he's the cocky, confident lawyer, when he's just known as Jimmy McGill.

Advertisement

McGill's strapped for cash and drives a rundown car. He's trying to make a living as an honest attorney. What should follow in the series is how McGill goes from a scrappy, hungry young lawyer to a well-known name in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Why did Saul get his own spinoff?

Ben Leuner/AMCThe show has been in the works for a while in the "Breaking Bad" writers room. Creator Vince Gilligan told Hitfix it kind of started off as a joke.

It started as a lark, which is another word for joke, in the writer's room. It started and it really came from the fact that I love working with Bob, just as we love working with really every actor on "Breaking Bad." But we also loved the character. We love writing for the character. We love putting words in his mouth. And we had so much fun indeed doing that that it started as a lark; we'd come up with some great term or phrase and we'd laugh about it in the writer's room. And then we'd say, 'You know, when we're doing the Saul Goodman show we'll be able to blah, blah, blah, blah.' And we made that comment so many times that it started to dawn on us that it wasn't a lark; there was truth to it. It was not just a joke, but a potentially good idea.

If I like "Breaking Bad," will I enjoy it?

I think you will. From what I've seen in the first two episodes (I'm waiting out to watch the third at the moment), there are plenty of nods to the original series while not feeling forced.

You'll see a few familiar faces including Jonathan Banks, and the visuals and montages will feel straight out of "Breaking Bad."

Advertisement

However, don't go into this show wanting another "Breaking Bad." You'll be disappointed. This will be its own show, focused on Goodman, er Jimmy McGill's, growth into a sleazy criminal lawyer. At this year's Television Critics Association press tour, co-creator Peter Gould has said they're not going do nods to the previous show and bring back former characters just because they can do it.

"We're trying to make something that stands on its own, that has an entertainment value that's not just seeing a series of old favorites, or 'Remember when?' It's not the series equivalent of a clip show," said Gould. "We try to balance these things out."

When will it air on AMC?

"Better Call Saul" will premiere Sun. Feb. 8 at 10 p.m. after the mid-season return of "The Walking Dead."

After that, it will head to Monday nights at 10 p.m. starting Feb. 9.

You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article