The first season of the American television drama series Better Call Saul premiered on February 8, 2015, and concluded on April 6, 2015. The ten-episode season was broadcast on Mondays in the United States on AMC, excluding the pilot episode which aired on a Sunday. Better Call Saul is a spin-off of Breaking Bad created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould who also worked on Breaking Bad.
The first season mainly takes place in 2002, and features Bob Odenkirk reprising his role from Breaking Bad as James Morgan "Jimmy" McGill, a lawyer who later becomes known as Saul Goodman. Jonathan Banks also reprises his role as Mike Ehrmantraut, a former Philadelphia police officer who works independently as a parking lot attendant, and later on a private investigator and "cleaner".
Video Better Call Saul (season 1)
Production
Development
By July 2013, the series had yet to be green-lighted. Netflix was one of many interested distributors, but ultimately a deal was made between AMC and Breaking Bad production company Sony Pictures Television. Gilligan and Gould serve as co-showrunners and Gilligan directed the pilot. Former Breaking Bad writers Thomas Schnauz and Gennifer Hutchison joined the writing staff, with Schnauz serving as co-executive producer and Hutchison as supervising producer. Also on the writing staff are Bradley Paul, and Gordon Smith, who was a writer's assistant on Breaking Bad.
Casting
Bob Odenkirk stars as lawyer Jimmy McGill (originally known as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad). In January 2014, it was announced that Jonathan Banks would reprise his Breaking Bad role as Mike Ehrmantraut and be a series regular.
Dean Norris, who played Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad, announced that he would not make an appearance, partly due to his involvement in the CBS series Under the Dome. Anna Gunn also mentioned a "talk" with Gilligan over possible guest appearances.
Michael McKean was cast as McGill's elder brother Chuck. The cast also includes Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin, Rhea Seehorn as Kimberly "Kim" Wexler, and Michael Mando as Ignacio "Nacho" Varga. In October 2014, Kerry Condon was cast as Stacey Ehrmantraut, Mike's daughter-in-law. In November 2014, it was announced that Julie Ann Emery and Jeremy Shamos had been cast as Betsy and Craig Kettleman, described as "the world's squarest outlaws."
Filming
Like its predecessor, Better Call Saul is set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As filming began on June 2, 2014, Gilligan expressed some concern regarding the possible disappointment from the series' turnout, in terms of audience reception.
In the first scene from the pilot episode, Saul is working at a Nebraska Cinnabon. This scene in the premiere is set in Omaha, but it was filmed in Albuquerque at the Cottonwood mall.
Maps Better Call Saul (season 1)
Cast and characters
Main
- Bob Odenkirk as James Morgan "Jimmy" McGill, a struggling lawyer, who is looking after his brother Chuck.
- Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut, a former Philadelphia police officer working independently as a parking lot attendant, and later a private investigator, bodyguard and "cleaner".
- Rhea Seehorn as Kimberly "Kim" Wexler, Jimmy's close friend and love interest.
- Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin, a partner of Chuck at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill and Jimmy's rival.
- Michael Mando as Ignacio "Nacho" Varga, a member of Tuco Salamanca's gang.
- Michael McKean as Charles L. "Chuck" McGill, Jr., Jimmy's elder brother, who allegedly suffers from electromagnetic hypersensitivity.
Recurring
- Jeremy Shamos and Julie Ann Emery as Craig and Betsy Kettleman, a county treasurer and his wife, accused of embezzlement.
- Kerry Condon as Stacey Ehrmantraut, Mike's daughter-in-law and the mother of Kaylee Ehrmantraut.
- Faith Healey as Kaylee Ehrmantraut, Mike's granddaughter.
- Eileen Fogarty as Mrs. Nguyen, owner of a nail salon which houses Jimmy's law office (and home) in its back room.
- Peter Diseth as Bill Oakley, a deputy district attorney.
- Joe DeRosa as Dr. Caldera, a veterinarian who serves as Mike Ehrmantraut's liaison to the criminal underworld.
- Dennis Boutsikaris as Rick Schweikart, the attorney for Sandpiper Crossing.
- Brandon K. Hampton as Ernesto, Chuck's assistant who works at HHM.
- Josh Fadem as Joey Dixon, a film student that helps Jimmy film various projects.
- Julian Bonfiglio as Sound Guy, a film student that helps Jimmy film various projects
- Steven Levine and Daniel Spenser Levine as Lars and Cal Lindholm, twin skateboarders and small-time scam artists.
- Míriam Colón as Abuelita, Tuco's grandmother and Hector's mother.
- Barry Shabaka Henley as Detective Sanders, a Philadelphia cop who was formerly partnered with Mike on the force.
- Mel Rodriguez as Marco Pasternak, Jimmy's best friend and partner-in-crime in Cicero, Illinois.
- Jean Effron as Irene Landry, an elderly client of Jimmy McGill overcharged by the Sandpiper Crossing.
Guest
- Raymond Cruz as Tuco Salamanca, a ruthless, psychotic drug distributor in the South Valley who works with Nacho.
- Cesar García as No-Doze, Tuco's henchman.
- Jesús Payán Jr. as Gonzo, Tuco's henchman.
- Mark Proksch as Daniel "Pryce" Wormald, a small-time drug dealer who hires Mike as security.
- Steven Ogg as Sobchak, a criminal Pryce hires for security.
- Clea DuVall as Dr. Cruz, a doctor who treats Chuck and suspects his condition is psychosomatic.
Episodes
Broadcast
In December 2013, Netflix announced that the entire first season would be available for streaming in the United States and Canada after the airing of the first season finale, and in Latin America and Europe each episode will be available a few days after the episode airs in the U.S. In Australia, Better Call Saul premiered on the streaming service Stan on February 9, 2015, acting as the service's flagship program. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the series was acquired by Netflix on December 16, 2013 and the first episode premiered on February 9, 2015, with the second episode scheduled for release the following day. Every subsequent episode was uploaded each week thereafter.
Reception
Critical response
The first season of Better Call Saul received critical acclaim, particularly for its acting, writing, and directing with many critics calling it a worthy successor to Breaking Bad. On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a rating of 98%, based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Better Call Saul is a quirky, dark character study that manages to stand on its own without being overshadowed by the series that spawned it." On the review aggregator website Metacritic, the first season has a score of 78 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
In his review of the two-episode premiere, Hank Stuever of The Washington Post graded it a "B+" and wrote the series "is right in line with the tone and style of the original, now-classic series", and that it "raises more questions in two hours than it will readily answer". Stephen Marche of Esquire wrote that the first few episodes were better than those of Breaking Bad. Kirsten Acuna of Business Insider declared the initial episodes "everything you could possibly want from a spinoff television series". Alesandra Stanley of The New York Times wrote, "Better Call Saul is better than good: It's delightful - in a brutal, darkly comic way, of course." Vulture writer Eric Konigsberg noted the show was special as it was "the first spinoff of this golden age of premium cable." Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the first season a positive review, saying, "Better Call Saul is not only a great show in the context of the program that birthed it into existence, but would be a great show with or without Walter White."
Ratings
The series premiere, "Uno" became the biggest in cable history, drawing in 4.4 million and 4 million in the 18-49 and 25-54 demographics, respectively, and received an overall viewership of 6.9 million.
^1 Live +7 ratings were not available, so Live +3 ratings have been used instead.
Accolades
Home media
The first season was released on Blu-ray and DVD in Region 1 on November 10, 2015. The set contains all 10 episodes, plus audio commentaries for every episode, uncensored episodes, deleted scenes, gag reel, and several behind-the-scenes featurettes. A limited edition Blu-ray set was also released with 3D packaging and a postcard vinyl of the Better Call Saul theme song by Junior Brown.
Comics
AMC released a digital comic books for Better Call Saul titled Better Call Saul: Client Development in February 2015, in advance of the series premiere, details the history of Saul and Mike, acting as a spin-off of the Breaking Bad episode that introduced Saul.
References
External links
- Official website
- List of Better Call Saul episodes on IMDb
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments