Fans have been waiting a long time for Better Call Saul season 4 to arrive, but how long will the series continue after that? While many successful TV shows receive spinoffs, it's fairly rare for said spinoffs to meet (or in even rarer cases exceed) the level of praise received by the classic original. That easily could have been the case for Better Call Saul, which premiered on AMC less than two years after the finale of Breaking Bad, a series often regarded as one of the best dramas in TV history.

Thankfully, Better Call Saul co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould managed to mostly avoid living in Breaking Bad's considerable shadow by crafting a show with its own identity, tone, and style. At the same time, there are enough familiar aspects to be found in Saul that Breaking Bad fans have never been left adrift as they watch Jimmy McGill's (Bob Odenkirk) dramatic, yet often hilarious, journey from small-time huckster with a heart of gold to being the "criminal lawyer" that will eventually get Walter White and Jesse Pinkman out of so many jams.

Better Call Saul has become a critical darling and awards magnet in its own right, and also draws ratings that AMC seems to be consistently pleased with. Despite those positives, it feels like it's taking forever for season 4 to premiere. Seasons 1 and 2 premiered in February, while season 3 debuted in April. At this point though, it's been nearly a full year since season 3 ended, and season 4 still has no definite premiere date. This has naturally caused many fans to worry, and start pondering the following question: will season 4 be the end and, if not, how much longer will the show go on?

Better Call Saul - Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler

Better Call Saul's producers have previously said that the spinoff won't run longer than Breaking Bad, which would put the cutoff at five seasons and out. While that seems straightforward enough, an important caveat to consider is that AMC chose to present Bad's final season in two halves, aired over the course of two years, in some ways almost creating a defacto sixth season. If Saul ends up going that route, the spinoff could conceivably remain on the air well into 2020.

On the other hand, there's a very real possibility that Better Call Saul season 4 could itself end the series. While there are a few different reasons why season 4 might have been delayed, one possible take could be that Gilligan, Gould, and company have decided to end Jimmy's story with this latest batch of episodes, and that pivotal decision caused season 4's premiere to be put off so that the best possible ending could be crafted. It's also possible that season 4 could end up being longer to accommodate finishing the story, perhaps expanding to 13-16 episodes, which would necessitate giving the writing staff additional time to pen those episodes.

It's been previously hinted that Better Call Saul season 4 will premiere in September 2018, but it's worth noting that production only recently began, so another delay wouldn't be that surprising. If and when AMC officially announces their plan for season 4 though, it'll be interesting to see if any of the above possibilities are confirmed.

More: Better Call Saul Season 4: Every Update You Need To Know