‘Better Call Saul’ Renewed For Season 3; Will Walter White Be In It?
New York – March 15, 2016 – AMC and Sony Pictures Television announced today the renewal of critically acclaimed drama “Better Call Saul” for a third season. The prequel to the award-winning series “Breaking Bad,” “Saul” will return with a ten-episode season, helmed by showrunners Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. The series is executive produced by Gilligan, Gould, Mark Johnson (“Breaking Bad,” Diner, Rain Man), Melissa Bernstein (“Breaking Bad,” “Rectify,” “Halt and Catch Fire”) and “Breaking Bad” alum Thomas Schnauz.
“What Vince, Peter, Bob and the entire team have accomplished with ‘Better Call Saul’ is truly rare and remarkable. They have taken one of the most iconic, immersive and fan-obsessive (in the best possible way) shows in television history and created a prequel that stands on its own,” said Charlie Collier, president of AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios. “Watching Jimmy McGill’s thoughtful, melodic and morally flexible transformation into Saul Goodman is entertaining and delighting millions of fans, whether their starting point was ‘Breaking Bad’ or not. This series has its own feel, pace and sensibility and we can’t wait to see what this incredibly talented group comes up with next in season three.”
“It’s been an extraordinary show that lives up to its predecessor,” said Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, presidents of programming and production for Sony Pictures Television. “Vince, Peter, Bob and the team are delivering brilliant storytelling and we’re proud to have AMC as our partner for another well-earned season.”
Better Call Saul was nominated for seven 2015 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Jonathan Banks, and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drams Series for Bob Odenkirk, who also received SAG and Golden Globe nominations. The four episode live+3 ratings averages for season two are 4.4 million viewers per episode, including 2.7 million adults 25-54 and 2.5 million adults 18-49.
“Better Call Saul” is set six years before Saul Goodman meets Walter White. When we meet him, the man who will become Saul Goodman is known as Jimmy McGill, a small-time lawyer searching for his destiny and hustling to make ends meet. Working alongside and often against Jimmy is “fixer” Mike Erhmantraut, a beloved character first introduced in “Breaking Bad.” The series will track Jimmy’s transformation into a man who puts the criminal in “criminal lawyer.”
[via press release]
Meanwhile, in discussing the current season, Odenkirk said that the possibility of Walter White appearing in the series is non-existent so far. “Stop referencing “Breaking Bad” … it hasn’t happened yet…this show is THIS show, and it’s full and complex and the stakes are different and it’s a helluva unique and rich experience,” he said, per Huffington Post.