Saul Goodman is perhaps one of (if notthe most) compelling charactersin the world ofBreaking BadandBetter Call Saul. The idea of a prequel series to one of the most critically acclaimed and iconic television shows of all time sounds like a horrible concept on paper. Still, in practice, co-creatorPeter Gould’s spin-off seriesBetter Call Saulended up being just as impressively written and acted as the legendary show that preceded it. However, if one television executive had his way,Saul Goodman might have never come into existence.
Entertainment Weeklyreceived an exclusive excerpt fromSaul Goodman v. Jimmy McGill, a new book written by TV critic Alan Sepinwall, that offers a comprehensive deep dive into the making of this hit prequel series. In a section of the book,it’s revealed that Gould was reluctant when first writing the character’s debut inBreaking Bad, and those fears would come to fruition when an executive disliked the idea of Saul as a character:
“I got scared, because I was worried thatwe were going to break the show by making a character that was too silly — that he was going to be just too big for what I thought was a very grounded show. My fear was actually enhanced when we had our first notes call with an executive who will remain nameless. Vince [Gilligan] and I were on a conference call, and the question came up, basically, “We don’t like this character. Could we start again and come up with a different story for this episode?”
Thankfully, it wasBreaking Badseries creatorGilliganwho would step in to defend the script, aptly titled “Better Call Saul,” as well as how the character would become integral to the series. Gould speaks in the upcoming book about how the unnamed executive would adhere to the words of Gilligan, saying:
“Vince said, “No.” He was strongly advocating for the script and for the character.And, to their credit, the person or persons on the call backed down, because they had to trust Vince. But, you can think about what an alternative universe would be where we had had to throw that episode out.”
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A world in which Saul Goodman doesn’t exist sounds like a sad one. Thankfully, Jimmy McGill is nothing if not a survivor, and his many aliases, jobs, and the character soon became one of the core pillars ofBreaking Badbefore eventually leading his own series.Better Call Saulstarts tonally dissonant fromBreaking Bad, much as Gould said his debut episode was, immediately carving its own highly entertaining and unique path.
However, the series would lean more toward the darker side ofBreaking Bad,allowing Odenkirk to take the characters of Saul /Jimmy /Gene into exciting new places, resulting in a final season that rivals that ofBreaking Bad’smemorable ending. Overall, Gilligan and Gould made the right decision to fight for Saul’s rightful place in theBreaking Badmythos.
Better Call Saul
