Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk reveals the first thing he said when approached about the spinoff. The popular Breaking Bad follow-up is finally returning to AMC with its sixth and final season. Consisting of 13 episodes, and split into two parts, Better Call Saul season 6 will debut its first half on April 18. The remaining half will follow on July 11. It’s a long-awaited arrival for a show that has experienced delays related to COVID-19 and also suffered a setback after Odenkirk suffered a heart attack and collapsed on-set while filming.
Odenkirk is fully recovered from the health scare and with the arrival of Better Call Saul season 6 just weeks away, the actor is looking back at arguably his most famous character and how he has evolved over the course of the spinoff. Although it’s largely a prequel, save for a select few black-and-white flashforwards, the show has deepened audiences’ understanding of the titular lawyer and introduced unforgettable new characters such as Rhea Seehorn’s Kim Wexler. Still, Odenkirk admits that he wasn’t always so crazy about Saul at first.
Speaking with USA Today to promote his new memoir Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama, the actor shed some light on the initial reservations he had about a spinoff. Odenkirk recalls that, when he was approached about the spinoff by co-creators Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan, he had a few thoughts about how his character should be written. But he worried that it would offend Gould and Gilligan. Read Odenkirk’s quote below.
“The first thing I said to Peter and Vince is you’ve got to make him likable if you want to write a show about him because I didn’t think he was likable. I thought they’d be insulted because I knew they liked the character, but they weren’t. They understood what I meant. I did grow to like him a lot more than when I started.”
Given how Saul was introduced in Breaking Bad as something of a lackey to help along with the plans of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), it’s understandable that Odenkirk wouldn’t much like that version of the character. But what Better Call Saul has done so well is to give life to the person Saul was before he crossed paths with Walter. Jimmy McGill, which is Saul’s real name, has his fair share of flaws. He also has a complicated family history, a deep love for Kim, and at least in the first few seasons of the spinoff, the character does seem to want to be on the right side of things even if his methods are suspect.
That nuance, which is afforded to almost all of the characters including the likes of Howard (Patrick Fabian) and Nacho (Michael Mando), is part of why the series has consistently been among the most praised by critics and adored by viewers. Odenkirk isn’t alone in having doubts about the viability of continuing one of the most impactful dramas of the past few decades. However, with its end near, it’s clear that Better Call Saul stands on its own as a remarkable show.
Source: USA Today