The final season of Better Call Saul finally kicked off on AMC, and this is appointment television for any viewers who aren't currently catching up with their Netflix subscription. After all, surely no one wants to be spoiled on the the major developments in the final episodes, and we just might be seeing the beginnings of another character’s spinoff.
There are definitely some strong contenders for characters who could shoulder the story of yet another spinoff in the Breaking Bad universe. Here are my best choices at this point in the series, though of course, some of these picks are contingent on the characters still living at the very end. Let’s dive in, and make a case for some obvious, and not so obvious choices for a spinoff.
Gus Fring
When it comes to characters who Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fans would like to see a spinoff for, I’m not sure there’s anyone who tops Gus Fring. For a character who has had such an impact on the franchise, we still know shockingly little about the earlier years of Gus. We don’t even know where he came up with the idea to turn a chain of chicken restaurants into a front for illegal drug distribution. It almost feels like co-creator and executive producer Vince Gilligan is keeping the mystique of Gus alive, potentially for a spinoff.
We don’t know a ton about Gus’ past when he lived in South America, though Giancarlo Esposito has mentioned some ideas he has. The actor once shared his own pitch for a spinoff and explained that he saw Gus as someone with a military background. While that would explain his sense of order and great planning ability, it wouldn't give away how he got off that path and into the drug world. Either way, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued by the premise, and obviously, we can’t do a sequel series on Gus. I’m all for this idea and see it as the most obvious choice for another series in the Breaking Bad universe.
Kim Wexler
At this stage in the Better Call Saul game, I think it's safe to say that Kim Wexler stands as the best new character introduced in the Breaking Bad spinoff. In fact, I'd say that she's in the running for one of the best characters of the entire franchise. She’s smart, caring, and certainly not anyone to be trifled with. Of course, life isn’t always fair, and as such, Kim typically got the short end of the stick in a lot of situations. It ultimately beat her down to the point where she’s trying to cook up some schemes like Jimmy does as Saul Goodman, which is worrisome.
I’m not sure Kim Wexler can pull off being bad like Jimmy, and the fact that she’s not even mentioned by Saul in Breaking Bad definitely has me wondering about her fate at the end of the series. With that said, in the hypothetical that Kim Wexler manages to escape Better Call Saul intact, I think there’s a case to be made about her getting her own follow-up series. I’m assuming the series would revolve around more legal cases, but again, who knows what Kim will be up to when this is done? It seems telling when even co-creator Peter Gould admitted he’s worried about her in the final stretch.
Stacey Ehrmantraut
One of the best things about Better Call Saul is that it managed to make a hit TV show out of a side character from a different series. Now, as BCS is in the final stretch after showing us the years of previously unknown antics of “Slippin' Jimmy”, I’m curious about the potential of other characters we don’t know much about. Stacey Ehrmantraut, daughter-in-law of Mike, was a relatively minor character in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. The spinoff revealed the biggest part of her story regarding the death of her husband and Mike’s son Matty, but is there more to it?
We don’t know where Stacey is post-Breaking Bad, but imagining the fallout from all the things that Mike was caught up in (and the fact that Jesse sent them money) is intriguing. There’s a scenario where Stacey has to deal with the feds, the drug pushers that Mike used to work with, and maybe even some corrupt Philadelphia cops who still might be paranoid that Matty told people about their dealings. There’s a story to be told there for sure, but as far as picks for a spinoff go, this one feels like a long shot.
Howard Hamlin
Kim and Jimmy hate Howard Hamilin with a passion in Better Call Saul, but I personally find it hard not to love Howard Hamlin. Maybe that’s because Howard’s not actually a bad guy, as Patrick Fabian once argued. Fabian’s portrayal of the attorney is just great, which really helps sell the idea of a spinoff that is centered around the character. Obviously, we don’t know Howard’s trajectory at the end of Better Call Saul, but if he’s still standing after this season, wouldn’t it be great to see what’s next?
This is especially true now that Kim and Jimmy are set on the path of destroying his career, and it feels likely that they’ll succeed. How does a good man who was framed live his life after that? What’s his next step and where does he go from there? I’m interested in hearing that story, but given that there are no real ties between Howard and the Breaking Bad story, that might complicate the ability to give him a true spinoff. If, however, Howard ends up running with someone like Tuco Salamanca in the near future, maybe this spinoff will happen.
Sobchak
Sobchak only had two appearances in Better Call Saul but the criminal private investigator was riveting enough that I want to know more about him. He served as a bodyguard for Pryce in Season 1, and reappeared in Season 5 under a new name (Mr. X) to dig up some dirt on the CEO of Mesa Verde, Kevin Wachtell. Sobchak isn’t a guy who is afraid to do what it takes to get a job done, which makes him an interesting subject to follow in a spinoff.
To be completely candid, I’m on board with the idea of a Sobchak post-Better Call Saul series because of the idea of Steven Ogg as leading man. I know the odds of us getting a Grand Theft Auto series one day are incredibly slim, but if you were to pair Ogg with Vince Gilligan for a series, I think that’s as close as you could get. Plus, Ogg’s acting chops in Snowpiercer were top notch, so I think there’s a lot of potential in saddling him in as the lead in his own series.
Hector Salamanca
Better Call Saul gave us a lot of Hector Salamanca, but still a lot further along in life than his humble beginnings. Salamanca isn’t in the best shape at the moment, and we know from this point forward, he’ll remain in poor health until he finally exacts revenge on Gus Fring. Therefore, the only other option is to go back into his past, which doesn't sound like a bad idea.
The Salamancas are a major crime family in the Breaking Bad universe, and it seems like they have deep roots in the cartel game. A prequel series about their family’s rise to power would arguably be as interesting as a story about Gus Fring, and a story from a young Hector’s perspective seems like the obvious choice for a lead character.
Will any of these characters get a spinoff after Better Call Saul? For now, we can only wait and see and tune into new episodes of the final season on AMC on Mondays at 9:00 p.m. ET.
