After Breaking Bad snowballed in popularity in its later seasons, fans were anxious to reach the finale to find out what would happen to Heisenberg. However, when it all was finally over, it was bittersweet as there was nothing else on television that could possibly rival the storytelling, cinematography, or performances of the show. That was until the prequel came along.
Upon its release, Better Call Saul was unprecedented, as no other prequel had ever equaled the quality of its predecessor. And with the shows having almost exactly the same number of episodes, Better Call Saul can go against its older sibling punch for punch.
Updated on August 17th, 2022 by Mark Birrell: With the conclusion of Better Call Saul being hailed in a similar way to Breaking Bad's, fans of the shows are wondering now more than ever if the best Better Call Season beats the best Breaking Bad season when both series are ranked by fans. Though there's a lot of overlap, particularly towards the end of Better Call Saul's final season, each show has its own distinct strengths, with each garnering huge scores from users on IMDb.
Better Call Saul: Season 2 (2016) – 8.5
● No. of episodes: 10
Season 2 of Better Call Saul didn’t necessarily take the show to the next level, as it was more of the same as the season that came before it. However, it did expand on Jimmy and Kim’s relationship, and his bitter family ties with his brother were more fully fleshed out.
The show also gave Nacho more screen time and introduced some familiar faces from the world of Breaking Bad, so it was still a fan’s fever dream, hence its monster score despite being slightly lower overall than the other seasons of the two series.
Better Call Saul: Season 4 (2018) – 8.6
● No. of episodes: 10
With season 4 of Better Call Saul starting to properly cross over with Breaking Bad, as it sees Gustavo Fring building his crystal meth empire with the help of Mike, there is tension bubbling in every scene.
Between the structural engineers, the civil war with the cartel, and the continuous mistakes that Jimmy makes, the fourth season of the spin-off is mostly set up for the next season, but it doesn’t do it without getting the heart racing, with it clearly living up to the story-establishing seasons of Breaking Bad for the vast majority of viewers.
Breaking Bad: Season 1 (2008) – 8.7
● No. of episodes: 7
This is what started it all, and though it was completely mismarketed as a comedy, as the network was clearly banking on the popularity of Bryan Cranston’s role in Malcolm in the Middle, the show ended up being one of the most suspenseful TV series ever and a huge pop culture phenomenon.
First seasons of shows are often ranked as their worst as there are always things that need to be ironed out, and though that’s the case here, an 8.7 is still higher than most shows’ best seasons.
Better Call Saul: Season 1 (2015) – 8.7
● No. of episodes: 10
The first season of Better Call Saul totally lived up to the hype as it had a healthy dose of hijinks and memorable lines from Mike. One of the unpopular opinions about Better Call Saul is that the show features too much of Mike Ehrmantraut, but he’s actually one of the main reasons why season 1 is so great.
One of the standout episodes of the first season is “Five-O,” in which even the main character is sidelined, as it’s all about Mike’s past and how he got to where he is. It’s the highest-rated installment of the season and was the first sign that the prequel would truly live up to the best moments of Breaking Bad.
Better Call Saul: Season 3 (2017) – 8.7
● No. of episodes: 10
Though fans initially tuned in to the show for the Breaking Bad references and the build-up to an outright cartel war, they stayed for the fiery courtroom drama. As Jimmy is completely vindicated by winning a lawsuit against his brother, even though the audience knows how right Chuck is and will turn out to be, Chuck finally breaks under the pressure, and it leads to one of the most heartbreaking moments of either series.
As the Breaking Bad universe has always been about family turmoil, the whole season 3 of Better Call Saul focuses on the psychology between Jimmy and his brother Chuck, played brilliantly by Michael McKean. Chuck and Jimmy's long-awaited confrontation in "Chicanery" is the show at its absolute finest.
Breaking Bad: Season 3 (2010) – 8.7
● No. of episodes: 13
The third season of Breaking Bad is a knockout thanks to its breathtaking cinematography and the addition of several key characters to the story. Not only do Saul Goodman and Gustavo Fring have much larger roles after their introductions in season 2, but the whole season hinges on Gale, another science genius who has turned to the dark side.
If it wasn’t for one specific episode, season 3 would be rated a lot higher up. “Fly” is the only Breaking Bad episode to have lower than an 8.0 on IMDb, even though there are many reasons “Fly” might actually be the best episode of Breaking Bad.
Breaking Bad: Season 2 (2009) – 8.8
● No. of episodes: 13
Being the first full season, as season 1 featured only seven episodes, season 2 is when Breaking Bad really comes alive. The characters have more time to develop, and the actors refine their performances, making them more three-dimensional.
Though the show's wild side was present in the first season, season 2 showed viewers how far Vince Gilligan and his writing team were willing to go, as every episode teased the huge climax of a massive catastrophe, to which Walter was the catalyst.
Breaking Bad: Season 4 (2011) – 9.0
● No. of episodes: 13
Season 4 of Breaking Bad was a turning point of the show, as it was when word of mouth about how incredible the series is was seriously starting to spread. It could be considered the most action-packed season, especially in its final few episodes, as it’s essentially a giant game of cat and mouse between Walter and Gustavo Fring, one of the greatest TV villains ever.
Not only that but season 4 also features the single best plot twist of the show, which is saying a lot as the series is full of them. The shocking finale holds the title for the highest-rated episode of either series, with a stunning 9.9 on IMDb.
Better Call Saul: Season 5 (2020) – 9.1
● No. of episodes: 10
Getting the show counted as one of the best TV shows of 2020, season 5 of Better Call Saul lived up to the later seasons of Breaking Bad in terms of drama and tension, currently sharing the top spot for the series on IMDb as the best Better Call Saul season.
Season 5 of Better Call Saul is so beloved because it sees Jimmy McGill almost completely inhabiting the titular character. Though it isn’t quite as scary as Walt’s transition to a drug lord, it’s more heartbreaking because Jimmy’s doom seems much more set in stone, and his arc to get there even more sympathetic.
Better Call Saul: Season 6 (2022) – 9.1
● No. of episodes: 13
The final season of Better Call Saul answers just about every possible question that a fan of either the prequel or its predecessor could have. What happens to Kim Wexler? Do Nacho and Lalo survive? How does it all end for Saul Goodman? Does Jimmy McGill ever confess his unspoken regrets? Fans got their answers, whether they were ready for them or not.
As the end of Saul Goodman's origin story reaches the beginning of Breaking Bad, past and present coverage and the once mostly comedic show becomes an unavoidable tragedy, but not one without a satisfying emotional resolution. Given more time, the finale of Better Call Saul could one day outrank Breaking Bad's, with season 6 currently ranking alongside season 5 as the best season of Better Call Saul.
Breaking Bad: Season 5 (2012/2013) – 9.4
● No. of episodes: 16
In the final season of Breaking Bad, fans got to see the inner workings of Madrigal, the white supremacists’ compound, the Disappearer's vacuum repair shop, and so much more.
However, the reason the season is so highly rated is because of all the payoffs that have been built up over the years, and finally seeing what was promised to fans from the very beginning of Breaking Bad, which was Walt becoming totally irredeemable. Interestingly, the success of the conclusion sees director Rian Johnson achieving the highest score of the show on IMDb with the episode "Ozymandias" after directing "Fly", the lowest-rated episode of the series, from season 3.