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Everything You Need To Know About 'Better Call Saul'

Kirsten Acuna   

Everything You Need To Know About 'Better Call Saul'

bob odenkirk better call saul

Ben Leuner/AMC

Bob Odenkirk is returning to TV as Saul Goodman in February.

"Breaking Bad" spinoff "Better Call Saul" is coming to TV in Feb. and it's probably one of the most-anticipated new series of the year.

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?
saul goodman breaking bad

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.

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.

jonathan banks better call saul

Ben Leuner/AMC

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

better call saul chuck

Ben Leuner/AMC

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

better call saul hamlin kim

Ben Leuner/AMC

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

better call saul michael mando

Ben Leuner/AMC


So, what will this be about?

bob odenkirk james mcgill saul goodman

Ben Leuner/AMC

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

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?

bob odenkirk better call saul

Ben Leuner/AMC

The 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?

better call saul car

Ben Leuner/AMC

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."

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.

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