The third season of AMC's critically acclaimed series Better Call Saul came to an end last week on what seemed to be the death of a major character and a whole lot of stories still unfinished. Unfortunately, the season ended without news of a renewal, so we couldn't say for sure that we'd ever find out what happened next. Now, AMC has made an announcement that should put our fears to rest. The network has officially renewed Better Call Saul for Season 4.
Of course, most fans probably weren't too worried about a cancellation for Better Call Saul. The ratings -- while not on the level of AMC's zombie apocalypse properties -- have been solid, and critics have responded well. Throw in the fact that it serves as a prequel to Breaking Bad, and the odds are good that Better Call Saul will last for as long as Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould want to keep making it. Obviously the show couldn't continue without star Bob Odenkirk on board as well, but he has already said that he's not looking forward to Jimmy making the big transformation into Saul, so it sounds like he won't be pushing for an end to the series.
Season 3 delivered solid enough numbers for AMC, with an average of 3.6 million viewers per episode in Live+same day calculations, with 2 million of those viewers falling in the valuable 25-54 demographic. The Season 3 finale was slightly higher in overall viewers, with 3.7 million total. Of those 3.7 million, 1.9 million fell in the 25-54 demographic and 1.7 fell in the all-important 18-49 demo. The viewership makes Better Call Saul one of the top three cable scripted dramas. In fact, thanks to Better Call Saul, AMC has four of the five top scripted dramas, with The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, and Into the Badlands delivering as well.
It's hard to say at this point where exactly Season 4 will go. Jimmy will undoubtedly be reeling from Chuck's unexpected death, which comes on the heels of him giving up his hopes of his elder care practice. Given how he kinda sorta almost "broke bad" in his own way in Season 3, it's quite possible that Chuck's death will push him down a darker path. Then there's the plot with Gus Fring, Nacho, and Hector Salamanca, which has been getting thicker and thicker.
Hopefully Season 4 will fill in some of the backstory blanks that Breaking Bad fans have been wondering for a while, although there are definitely some Breaking Bad questions that are best left unanswered. Now we can speculate about what's to come without wondering if the show will be back. AMC hasn't announced when exactly we can expect Jimmy and Co. on the small screen once more, but Season 4 is slated for some point in 2018.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in cable TV news. If you're feeling a hole in your life now that Better Call Saul has ended for 2017, our summer TV guide can point you in a new direction.
