Having recently wrapped its phenomenal fifth season, I feel confident in saying thatBetter Call Saulhas now surpassedBreaking Badin quality. That’s not to denigrateBreaking Bad—one of the best TV shows ever made—but to single out just how incredible this “prequel series” has become, and how compelling and dramatic and heartbreaking it is in its own right. But as showrunner and co-creatorPeter Gouldtells it, the road to getting here was a long and winding one.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Gould for 45 minutes as part of our remote interview seriesCollider Connected, and we discussed everything from his experience working onBreaking Badand the pressure that came with ending that show in the spotlight to howBetter Call Saulinitially began as a half-hour comedy series. Gould stressed that just as withBreaking Bad, the storytelling process onBetter Call Saulis one of mapping out broad plans but being open to detours as they arise. Case in point: Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) was originally planned to transform into Saul Goodman by the end of Season 1 or 2, but in practice the writers held onto Jimmy for four full seasons before “Saul Goodman” entered the frame—and the show was all the better for it.
During our wide-ranging conversation, Gould discussed how working onBreaking Badwas “the creative experience of my life,” and revealed how he andVince Gilliganfirst hatched the idea for a Saul Goodman prequel series while in the home stretch of that iconic AMC series. The showrunner got candid about making changes to their story along the way, and revealed what the initial version of Chuck McGill (Michael McKean) was like before the character evolved once McKean inhabited the role and brought new shades to this broken sibling relationship.
Gould also talked aboutBetter Call SaulSeason 5 in detail, including how the “finger guns” moment for Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) came about, the decision to bring Lalo (Tony Dalton) to the forefront as a primary antagonist, and what it’s been like bringing backGiancarlo Espositoto reprise his notorious role as Gus Fring. Finally, Gould gave an update onBetter Call SaulSeason 6 and discussed whether Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) will appear and why the final season consists of 13 episodes.
It was a long and deeply fascinating discussion, and Gould is an absolute delight of a person to talk to and more than eager to shed light on the entire creative team that makesBetter Call Saulpossible. Check out the full interview above and a list of what we discussed below.
And stay tuned for more from theBCSteam as part of Collider’sBetter Call Saulweek: you can look forward to Collider Connected episodes with Giancarlo Esposito and Rhea Seehorn on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.
