AMC has managed to keep the Breaking Bad train going thanks to spinoff prequel Better Call Saul, which follows not-so-sleazy attorney Jimmy McGill as he slowly but surely turns into the very sleazy Saul Goodman. Better Call Saul will almost certainly have to end with Jimmy having finally become Saul, and so the transformation is pretty much inevitable as long as the show isn't prematurely cancelled. As it turns out, however, star Bob Odenkirk isn't excited by the prospect of playing Saul rather than Jimmy, saying this:
This is a more rewarding part than that. So, yes, I would miss the part that I'm playing now. I don't think there is an extended period of time that we'll be enjoying Saul's ridiculousness. I think there will be a story to tell there, though. We're not quite there yet. With Chuck gone, that is one of the two big things that are connecting him to humanity, and the other being Kim. When those pillars fall away, he's in freefall. We're fairly close to that.
For as much depth as Bob Odenkirk was able to instill in the character of Saul Goodman over the years on Breaking Bad, Saul's actions were generally varying degrees of the same behavior. He was after all a side character, even if he did steal a lot of the scenes he was in. As Jimmy on Better Call Saul, Odenkirk gets to show a full range of acting on a weekly basis. His reveal to Uproxx that he's not looking forward to transforming into Saul indicates that he thinks there's still plenty of story to be told for his character as Jimmy.
Interestingly, Bob Odenkirk refers to the loss of Chuck as one of the two pillars that will have to fall away before Jimmy becomes Saul. Given what happened to Chuck in the Season 3 finale, Odenkirk's comments could point to the series not lasting for all that much longer. Breaking Bad only ran for five seasons; could Saul run for even fewer? Granted, the show hasn't even been officially renewed for Season 4 yet, and it's hard to imagine that AMC would give this particular show the axe until the creative team is ready to call it quits.
Personally, Bob Odenkirk's comments make me nervous for Kim. Jimmy already lost Chuck in a way that is likely to devastate him in the long run; his reactions to the death of his brother could lead to some conflict with Kim, or even put her in danger. Kim is conspicuously absent from Breaking Bad, and Kim as we've known her isn't really the type to put up with the kind of person Saul Goodman was when Walt and Jesse met him.
We'll have to wait and see. Hopefully we'll get the official renewal announcement sooner rather than later. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in TV news, and swing by our summer TV premiere schedule and our 2017 Netflix premiere guide if you're looking for something to fill your evenings now that Better Call Saul is done for the summer.
