Better Call Saul has been renewed for a fourth season! While this news should hardly come as a surprise, considering the Breaking Bad prequel’s strong ratings and widespread critical acclaim, negotiations delayed the renewal far longer than expected. The shuffling of executives at AMC and producer Sony Pictures Television likely had to do with this; Joel Stillerman of AMC left for Hulu, while Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht left Sony for Apple.
Better Call Saul will return in 2018 with another 10 episodes chronicling the slow, tragic descent of Jimmy McGill as he transforms into the titular Saul Goodman. The renewal of the show is an immense relief to fans, considering the life-or-death stakes of the cliffhanger in last week’s finale.
Charlie Collier, the president of AMC, said of the announcement: “Supporting artists we respect and admire; delivering truly outstanding character development and nuanced dramatic twists and turns; continuing a legacy of bold creative choices; loving writing that is the best in the business: Truly, ‘S’all good, man.’ Congratulations to Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Bob Odenkirk and everyone involved with Better Call Saul. Bring on season four!”
Gilligan and Gould, who both returned from Breaking Bad to serve as co-showrunners for Saul, have masterfully avoided turning the show into some cheap clone of its predecessor. Instead, Saul has rightly earned its place as a heavy-hitter in the era of prestige TV, wracking up tons of Emmy nominations and a great deal of acclaim for both its careful storytelling and strong performances.
Bob Odenkirk, who plays the titular character, has taken Saul/Jimmy from being a mere comic relief sideshow character and turned him into something far deeper. The innocence of Jimmy, and the nuance of Odenkirk’s portrayal, makes the inevitable downfall painful to think about but difficult to look away from. It’s unclear how many seasons the showrunners have in mind, but if they are able to keep this level of quality, it could easily have a greater longevity than Breaking Bad.
