Since it was announced shortly after Breaking Bad’s curtain call, AMC’s Better Call Saul has been a tricky butterfly to pin. Would this be a completely tangential story that remained fixed in Albuquerque? Would it forego the omnipresent sense of tension found in Vince Gilligan’s opus and instead create a more light-hearted affair? Will Bob Odenkirk’s Saul excel in his promotion from side character to out and out protagonist?
Well, unfortunately we’ll have to wait patiently until the show debuts in February of next year to find out the compressive answer. But the series isn’t exactly an unknown quantity, and thanks to a recent quote by Odenkirk himself, we have an early indication of Better Call Saul’s innate tone.
“It’s total drama, man,” Odenkirk told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s 85 percent drama, 15 percent comedy.”
Billed as a prequel of sorts, Better Call Saul will chart the rise of Jimmy McGill into the motor-mouthed lawyer we know from Breaking Bad. In doing so, the show plans to bring back some of the series’ more notable stars, not to mention the World’s Best Grandad, Mike Ehrmantraut (played once again by Jonathan Banks).
Elsewhere, reports from earlier in the year hinted at the return of Walter and Jesse, with Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul both expressing interest in appearing in the show for a cameo appearance. It’s unclear if this fan service will materialize though, as it may interfere with the show’s overarching continuity. Still, if there’s one creative mind in the medium who could find a workaround, it’s Vince Gilligan.
Better Call Saul will smooth talk its way onto AMC in February, 2015. For now, let us know if you’re excited for another trip to Albuquerque in the comments below.