Better Call Saul, the cult American drama, has been creating a buzz since its debut. It follows the story of slippery but well-intentional lawyer, Jimmy McGill and how he slowly transforms into the morally bankrupt Saul Goodman, as we know from its sequel, Breaking Bad. The show has dramatic moments, comedy, thrill, brilliant cameos, and all the other elements to keep you on the edge of your seats.
When Better Call Saul was first aired, Breaking Bad fans didn’t know it would live up to the latter’s quality. However, it did and gathered great reviews from the critics and audience, including Breaking Bad fans.
First premiered on AMC on the 8th of February, 2015, the show had a total of six seasons. The last episode of Better Call Saul was aired this August 2022, and after its six successful seasons, the viewers started wondering if it would be the last time they would watch it or AMC has plans to renew it for further seasons.
The question still lingers. We have gathered some information to clear the air. Here’s everything to know about the renewal of Better Call Saul.
Will the Show Have its Seventh Season?
The demand for this series grew among the fans season after season. Better Call Saul defied all their expectations and proved to be one of the finest shows of the year. Unfortunately, the sixth season was the last season of the series, and it will not be renewed for the seventh one.
The reason is straightforward – the show was always planned to conclude with six seasons. It has already covered all the major plotlines for the theme, and it is unlikely that the series has much left to offer for more episodes. Now that the final episode has already been aired, Better Caul Saul’s journey has ended.
Before airing the sixth season, the showrunner, Peter Gould, had already revealed in an interview that the show would end with its sixth and final season:
“From day one of Better Call Saul, my dream was to tell the complete story of our complicated and compromised hero, Jimmy McGill – now AMC and Sony are making that dream come true. We couldn’t be more grateful to the fans and critics who are making this journey possible. Next month, we start work on the sixth and final season, and we are going to do our damnedest to stick the landing.”
The president of AMC Studio, Sarah Barnett shared:
“Greenlighting a prequel to one of the most iconic series in television history is one of the boldest swings that AMC has ever taken. But, thanks to the creative genius of Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, it has also been one of the most rewarding.”
According to Vince Gilligan:
“You have got to know when to leave the party. You don’t want to be the guy with the lampshade on his head. I know I was asked the same thing at the end of Breaking Bad, and I gave the same answer, but I need to prove to myself that I am not a one-trick pony.”
What Happened in the Finale Episode of the Sixth Season?
Episode 13 ‘Saul Gone’ of the sixth season is the finale written and directed by the co-creator and showrunner Peter Gould. He wrote the Breaking Bad episode ‘Better Caul Saul’ which introduced the character Saul Goodman and co-created the spin-off with Vince Gilligan.
In the finale episode, the viewers see in separate flashbacks that Saul asks Mike and Walter about their regrets, and Chuck questions Jimmy if he has ever thought about taking a different course in life.
Gene was apprehended and charged in 2010 working with Bill Oakley, his former adversary as his co-counsel to negotiate a sentence reduction to seven years in jail while claiming to be the victim of Walt’s machinations. He also offers to admit to killing Howard, however, finds out that Kim has already confessed. To get Kim to the court, Saul makes up a new testimony concerning her after being extradited to Albuquerque for his trial.
He later returns and uses the name James McGill, while revealing his complete role in Walt’s empire and Chuck’s suicide. He is then given an 86-year sentence. Jimmy is renowned among his fellow prisoners and is addressed as Saul. Kim visits him, and they smoke together. As she walks away, Jimmy gestures at her with his signature finger gun.
Who is Cast in Better Call Saul?
The cast of Better Call Saul includes the following:
- Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill and Saul Goodman
- Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut
- Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler
- Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin
- Michael Mando as Nacho Varga
- Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca
- Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Firing
Will There be More Spin-Offs to the Breaking Bad Franchise?
The fans were left disappointed when the news of the end of Better Call Saul was announced. But there is some good news too. It might not be the last you see the world Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould have created.
According to Dan McDermott, the president of entertainment and AMC studios at AMC Networks, the doors are always open for further spin-offs somewhere down the line. He stated:
“I can tell you that if I could do anything to encourage Vince and Peter to continue on in this universe, I would do it. I think you would have to ask them, but the door is always open, and I long for the day my phone rings and Vince, Peter, and our friends at Sony called to say, ‘Hey, I think we have another show set in the universe.’”.
The showrunner, too, explains that while there are still many avenues to be explored in the future series, they are now focusing on creating something away from the Breaking Bad universe, claiming he doesn’t want there to be too much of a good thing. He states:
“I can definitely imagine revisiting it. Selfishly, I would like to do so, to keep this thing going. But without naming any names, I look around at some of the worlds, the universe, and the stories that I love, whether they are on TV or in the movies and I think there’s a certain point, and it’s hard to define, where you have done too much in the same universe. And some universes are much bigger and more elastic. Ours is a very small one, Albuquerque, New Mexico, versus some of these worlds and series of movies and TV shows.”
He further added,
“Yes, I could do more with this universe, and maybe someday I will, especially if I fail at everything that comes next. Then I will come crawling back. But right now, whether there is more room to grow or not and there probably is – I feel like it’s time to do something new. The best way of looking at it, then is that there is still very much a possibility of further stories in this world, but it will likely be some time before we can dig back into the seedy Albuquerque criminal underworld once more.”
How Did Better Call Saul Perform on the TV?
As stated, the series defied the expectations of the viewers and performed quite well. The criticism has been phenomenal. The current season has an approval rating of 99 percent based on 161 reviews, with an average rating of 9.3/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. According to the website’s critical consensus, “Better Call Saul remains as masterfully in control as Jimmy McGill keeps insisting he is in the final season, where years of simmering storytelling come to a scintillating boil.”
The ratings on IMDb have been remarkable too with an 8.9/10 rating.
Interesting Facts about Better Call Saul that Every Fan Must Know
Do not call yourself a fan of this series if you weren’t aware of these interesting facts.
- During the filming of the series, the cast lived together. It is the reason why all the performances of the cast complemented each other so much. The lead actor, Bob Odenkirk, revealed that his fellow cast members Josh, Rhea, and Patrick shared a home together in Albuquerque. He also mentioned that the four would often go to dinner and hiking after shooting. Their bond off-the screen had been worth cherishing.
- Do you know Better Call Saul was once planned to be a comedy show? Apart from the drama and the dark theme that it has, the series also includes a blend of humor that makes it perfect as it is. Saul Goodman’s comedic presence is everything to watch. The showrunner revealed, “We thought it might be a half-hour sitcom. We thought about ripping off Dr. Katz. Week in and week out famous comics would come in with their legal problems. But we knew nothing about writing straight-up comedy.”
- Bob Odenkirk received Cinnabon training for his role in the series. At the end of Breaking Bad, Saul Goodman escapes and begins a new identity as Gene Takavic, the manager of a branch of Cinnabon in Omaha, Nebraska. The makers followed the storyline once more in the prequel, in its last season. Upon finding out their store would play a prominent role in the show’s finale, Cinnabon sent over staff to train Bob Odenkirk as a fully-qualified Bakery Manager. The Marketing VP for the company revealed they trained him and the other actors to prepare hundreds of baked goods for the cast and crew.
- The ending of the show was not what was planned by the makers. Better Call Saul had an alternate ending. However, the makers later decided on the current ending so that it would feel more honest and justified.
- As trivial as it could get, all the episodes in the first season of the show ends with an O. They are called Uno, Mijo, Nacho, Hero, and Jello.
- Do you know that Saul Goodman has a real website? Like How I Met Your Mother, there is an active website for Better Call Saul too. You will find all the clichéd and hilarious infomercials and live office cams connecting to not-so-competent lawyers. The website is called bettercallsaul.com
Where can I Watch Better Call Saul?
Better Call Saul is available on Netflix in the UK and elsewhere. In the United States of America, you can stream all the seasons on AMC.