Though Better Call Saul’s final season wasn’t originally intended to be split up into two parts on AMC, it was certainly successful at driving up the anticipation and good-natured dread for the remaining episodes, thanks to that deadly shocker in Episode 607. Now, there are only six more Mondays left for co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould to conclude the Breaking Bad prequel series (with Carol Burnett guest-starring, no less), and it appears there was a bit of recasting behind the scenes when those impending installments were filming. We can now look forward to a Station 19 antagonist causing stress for Bob Odenkirk’s titular character in the show’s flash-forward sequences.
As first revealed in a Better Call Saul teaser released over the Independence Day weekend, Station 19 star Pat Healy was added into the show’s black-and-white future narrative as the all-too-knowledgeable cab driver Jeff. Prior to Season 6, the worrisome Jeff was portrayed by Don Harvey, who popped up previously this year in Pam & Tommy ahead of his starring role in HBO’s We Own This City. According to a fansite dedicated to Saul, it was the actor’s obligations concerning the latter crime-fueled drama that caused him to have to back out of reprising the role of Jeff for the upcoming episodes.
While Don Harvey certainly gave a memorable performance as Jeff in his two prior episodes, the character wasn’t exactly the most established, so it shouldn’t be too shocking for viewers to witness Pat Healy taking over the role. (Even if there might be some “Wait, was he on here already?” Google searches after he first appears.)
Check out the teaser below, which reflects back on Jeff’s first scene in the cab, just with a new pair of eyes reflected in the rear-view mirror.
While Better Call Saul hasn't spent an extended amount of time in flash-forward sequences with Gene, the fact that the show cast another recognizable name like Pat Healy to take over the role of Jeff indicates that storyline will indeed have some major ramifications during the final stretch. Whether it includes Jeff ratting out Gene/Saul/Jimmy to the cops, or Bob Odenkirk's frantic character killing Jeff in an impulsive rage, I cannot wait to find out.
Even fans who may not be familiar with Station 19 character Michael Dixon will probably recognize Pat Healy from one or more of his many other projects. When it comes to hectic situations, the actor has starred in such fingernail-gnawing thrillers such as Cheap Thrills, Starry Eyes, and Compliance, and in recent years has appeared in a variety of TV shows such as Interrogation, Hap and Leonard, Them, so it’s probably easier to count the projects he’s been in that weren’t stress magnets. He’ll soon be seen in Paramount Network’s George and Tammy opposite Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon.
Better Call Saul will return to AMC for its final episodes on Monday, July 11, at 9:00 p.m. ET, while the first five seasons can be streamed in full with a Netflix subscription. Head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see what else will be popping up before and after that date.
