Aaron Sarnecky is celebrating the 10th anniversary of Better Call Saul, but his brother is conspicuously absent. Filling in for Josh is Alex Marcus, Podcast Director of The Pop Break. Alex previously discussed Breaking Bad with Aaron.
Better Call Saul is a legal crime drama created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. It is a spinoff of Breaking Bad. It premiered on AMC on February 8, 2015. The show ran for six seasons and a total of 63 episodes. It ended on August 15, 2022. The show had a short-lived animated prequel on AMC+, entitled Slippin’ Jimmy.
The series chronicles the evolution of small-time attorney Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) into the morally corrupt lawyer Saul Goodman from Breaking Bad. It also reveals Saul’s future living under an assumed name. Other returning characters include his eventual fixer Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and drug distributor Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito).Â
New characters include Jimmy’s romantic interest Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), his brother Chuck (Michael McKean), Chuck’s legal partner Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian), drug dealer Nacho Varga (Michael Mando), and cartel leader Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton).
Like Breaking Bad, many critics consider Better Call Saul one of the greatest television shows of all time. Some even hail it as better. It was nominated for 53 Emmy Awards with no wins (a record for nominations without a win). Nominations included Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
Aaron and Alex chat about their exposure to Better Call Saul before going into the two-night series premiere, the general plot, the performances, the connections to Breaking Bad, and the series finale. They also ponder the potential for another show set in the Breaking Bad universe.Â
For a podcast on another prestigious TV series, you can listen to Aaron and Josh talk about Game of Thrones.
