What We Know About 'Better Call Saul'

It's been a while now since Breaking Bad ended and left our Sundays empty and meaningless. But there is a bright light at the end of that tunnel, and that light is Better Call Saul. So what do we know about Better Call Saul so far? Well let's take a look.

Saul's the star

Let's just get that little obvious tidbit out of the way right off the bat: The show will star Bob Odenkirk as former Breaking Bad character and sketchy lawyerman Saul Goodman.

The show will be a "mix of prequel and sequel"

This according to Odenkirk. According to Deadline the show "will focus on the evolution of the Goodman character before he ever became Walter White’s lawyer."

It'll be more comedic than Breaking Bad

"While hourlong, the spinoff is expected to be be far less dark than the original series, with more comedy infused into it," also according to Deadline. Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and Odenkirk elaborated on this in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:

"[The show] will adhere to a 75 percent comedy/25 percent drama ratio. The biggest challenge for Gilligan and Gould so far has been in formulating the dramatic heft and conflict for the wisecracking Goodman, who has largely served as Bad‘s comic relief. “We’ve had to find the ongoing itch that Saul needs to scratch, so to speak, or else we wouldn’t have much of a show,” noted Gilligan.

Yes, we will probably get some fun cameos from the Breaking Bad cast

Think of this sort of as the Angel to Breaking Bad's Buffy the Vampire Slayer — the show will be its own thing building its own segment of a pre-established world. That segment will be largely self-sufficient, but you can expect a familiar face here or there, a la when a Willow or an Oz or a Spike dropped by Angel for guest appearances. “Personally, I’d have a hard time resisting putting all these guys in for a cameo or two every now and then,” said Gilligan to EW. Breaking Bad 's Bryan Cranston, for his part, told Access Hollywood "I would definitely do any appearance on the show … If it made sense, sure absolutely. We’ll see.” No word yet on if the show will have a Spike, but I nominate Badger or Skinny Pete.

Gilligan will set up the show and then likely leave it to others

So no, Breaking Bad god Vince Gilligan will likely not rule over every detail of Better Call Saul — think of him as the J.J. Abrams to Better Call's Lost, helping to establish the world and the pace and tone of the writer's room, and then going off to add lens flares somewhere else.

The show might spend a lot of time in the courtroom

We never really saw much of Saul Goodman in the courtroom in Breaking Bad, which is odd when you consider his profession. That will likely not remain the case in Better Call Saul.

The series will likely premiere in the summer or early fall of 2014

So soon and yet so far!

Image: AMC