Bob Odenkirk Reveals Why Breaking Bad Is Still So Important To Better Call Saul
Since its premiere in 2015, AMC's "Better Call Saul" has earned critical acclaim for six seasons, creating a legacy that will no doubt befit its predecessor. The "Breaking Bad" spin-off follows Lawyer Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) as he brushes arms with the increasingly sinister elements of the Albuquerque underworld.
Praised for its grounded performances and confident storytelling, "Better Call Saul" is a very different show from its parent series at times. Still, it retains the whip-smart humor and signature style that made "Breaking Bad" such a hit to begin with. As the timeline gap between the two series' closes more and more, it's easy to find yourself wondering how much crossover we'll see between the two stories in the second part of the legal drama's final season.
Peter Gould has already confirmed that the characters of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) will be returning in some form in the final season of "Better Call Saul" (via Variety). However, he's not the only one pointing out the importance of the "Breaking Bad" connection as the end of the spin-off series looms in the distance.
Bob Odenkirk thinks Breaking Bad prepared audiences for Better Call Saul
"I've often thought that there's no way we could do the show we've done if Breaking Bad hadn't existed, and not simply because Saul was invented for Breaking Bad," Bob Odenkirk said in an interview with Collider. "Because Breaking Bad trained the audience to care about details and to know that every little detail will pay off and matter."
For fans of "Better Call Saul," it's easy to see what he means with the second statement, as many episodes of the spin-off series begin with seemingly benign cold opens that can temporarily leave viewers confused or bewildered. For example, one Season 6 episode opens with a long sequence showing the creation of an ornamental glass sculpture. The significance of this scene is not explained until the very end of the episode. Without the trust built from "Breaking Bad," some audiences may understandably be tempted to switch the channel. Of course, the pink teddy bear flashforwards shown throughout "Breaking Bad" Season 2 prove this level of audience trust was born through experience.
This detail didn't escape Odenkirk. "Then, we got to do Better Call Saul," Odenkirk elaborated, "which is this quiet, idiosyncratic, subtle, quirky show where things are running on parallel tracks a lot, but you know they're gonna all come together, and they're all gonna matter to each other, but you know that because you watched Breaking Bad."
"So we're very lucky to make this interesting show, and it's only because Breaking Bad was so good that we get to do Better Call Saul," Odenkirk concluded. Odenkirk also teased that the show's final season "explodes in a million directions." Considering the sizable response to the 2013 ending of its parent series (via Entertainment Weekly), "Better Call Saul" seems destined to share an honored place in television history.