Better Call Saul is a (law school) textbook example of a TV spinoff that matches its predecessor in terms of quality storytelling, and it helped turn Mr. Show icon Bob Odenkirk into a dramatic powerhorse. But as it often goes with incredibly amazing television standouts, an ill-sighted network note nearly clipped the actor’s Saul Goodman character from existence before he could bring his signature sleaze to some of Breaking Bad’s best episodes.
Better Call Saul Vs. Breaking Bad: Which Is The Better Overall Series
Better Call Saul co-creator and esteemed Breaking Bad writer Peter Gould dropped this gobsmacking nugget of info in the impending BTS extravaganza Saul Goodman V. Jimmy McGill: The Critical Companion to Better Call Saul (via EW), penned by Alan Sepinwall and out on February 4, 2025. The Emmy winner dug into the origins of the flagship drama’s Season 2 episode “Better Call Saul,” by first admitting that when Season 2 was being crafted, he wasn’t entirely sure what the tone was, and defaulted to creator Vince Gilligan for guidance.
The basic idea was that Bryan Cranston’s Walter White needed a lawyer, and the writers initially went a little overboard in the conception phase for that character that eventually became Saul. As Gould put it:
I think this was Vince feeling out what the show was going to be going forward. So we came up with this idea of this character. And first, in the room, we had a lot of ideas that were crazier even than what we ended up doing. There was one pitch where, when he got paid, he would put the money into a pneumatic tube that went straight to the bank. There were all kinds of crazy pitches like that. And we were just having fun with the character. And I remember, Vince came in with the name Saul Good. And then, one of the other writers said, 'Saul Goodman.' And then, one of the writers said, 'What about LWYRUP as a license plate?' And so, these started clinging to each other right away.
As a kid, the idea of a pneumatic tube connections was the stuff of dreams, so I would have been down with that idea all the way. But I digress.
Continuing his explanation, Peter Gould said that as opposed to being conceived as a standalone character with the potential to expand this crime drama saga, Saul Goodman was just meant to be a means to an end for Walt's story, albeit a means that was more amusing than perhaps expected. Which sparked some nervousness when it came to how the shyster would properly fit into the deadly serious story. And as Gould put it, those nerves were fully justified.
Did we think he was going to have a future? Well, I’ll tell you, personally, as I was writing the episode, I got very nervous. I got scared, because I was worried that we 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. Grounded in its own way, let’s put it that way. And, my fear was actually enhanced when we had our first notes call with an executive who will remain nameless. Vince 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?'
You gotta love a higher-up boss who can look at something and, probably without making an attempt to grasp how much work went into it, ask if it could be done all over again from top to bottom. Wait, did I say "love?" I meant "rage out against."
Thankfully, Vince Gilligan made the decision to speak up in defense of the colorful attorney, making it possible for Better Call Saul's A+ episodes to exist and entertain in perpetuity. According to Gould:
And 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.
And here I thought the wildest change-in-decision behind the scenes of Breaking Bad (at least ones concerning Bob Odenkirk's character) might have been flipping Saul from having a Hot Topic job to working at Cinnabon. But this is on a whole other level of "What the hell was that one person thinking?"
All episodes of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are available to stream with an AMC+ subscription, and if there’s ever a point when it looks like BCS doesn’t exist anymore, that’s how you’ll know you unwittingly slipped into that alternate universe where AMC execs got their way. Good luck getting home!
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