Vince Gilligan initially developed Better Call Saul as a half-hour sitcom, which would’ve been awesome, but the more grounded, dramatic version we got is even better. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gilligan explained that when he started working on a Saul Goodman spin-off for AMC, it was conceived as a more straightforward episodic comedy. This version of the show would’ve seen Saul in his office with a revolving door of eccentric clients. Each week, a new guest star would come into Saul’s office with a new legal problem, which Gilligan compared to the format of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist.
As Gilligan and his co-creator Peter Gould discussed this original concept, they quickly realized they didn’t have the skillset for a half-hour comedy, having spent their careers working on hour-long dramas. So, they switched to an hour-long format, but decided to make it “a really funny hour” that would flip Breaking Bad’s ratio of 25% humor to 75% drama. However, as Better Call Saul went on, they even ended up dropping that conceit as the spin-off became just as heartbreaking and dramatic as Breaking Bad. While that’s the best possible version of the spin-off, the original idea sounds great, too.
Better Call Saul As A Half-Hour Comedy Show Would’ve Been A Lot Of Fun
The Saul Goodman Character Is Tailor-Made For A Sitcom
The final version of Better Call Saul is arguably the best possible version of a Saul spin-off. Its style is more in line with Breaking Bad, and it ended up studying and deconstructing the Jimmy McGill character in just as much depth as Breaking Bad’s study of Walter White. The animated spin-off, Slippin’ Jimmy, proved that taking a Breaking Bad show out of the franchise’s established style is a very risky move that can easily fail. But it’s hard not to imagine that a half-hour sitcom version of Better Call Saul still would’ve been a lot of fun.
The main storyline of
Better Call Saul
takes place from roughly 2002 to 2004.
The Saul character is tailor-made for a sitcom. He’s an unscrupulous lawyer who’ll do anything to keep his clients out of a court of law — that’s the perfect setup for a comedic subversion of the legal procedural. Before Breaking Bad revealed what a great dramatic actor he was, Bob Odenkirk was an acclaimed comedian. He co-headlined one of the greatest sketch comedies ever made, Mr. Show with Bob and David, and had scene-stealing supporting roles in How I Met Your Mother and The Larry Sanders Show. Better Call Saul is an incredible drama, but it would’ve made a hilarious sitcom.
It Would’ve Made Great Use Of Odenkirk’s Comedic Talents
While Better Call Saul would’ve made for an amazing sitcom, the half-hour format would’ve restricted the series in the long run. In the first couple of seasons, it would’ve been fun to see which guest stars came in to recruit Saul’s services and how he would get them out of legal trouble. But the never-changing status quo of an episodic sitcom would’ve meant that the series couldn’t evolve. In its final form, Better Call Saul charted a similar trajectory to Breaking Bad; the tone and narrative changed as the protagonist changed.
The dramatic version of Better Call Saul really sunk its teeth into Saul’s psychology and what made him tick. It showed how a wayward young underdog got gradually corrupted and became a *criminal* lawyer.
If Better Call Saul had been a sitcom, it would’ve given Odenkirk plenty of opportunities to show off his comedic talents, but it wouldn’t have demonstrated his dramatic range like the hour-long version did. The dramatic version of Better Call Saul really sunk its teeth into Saul’s psychology and what made him tick. It showed how a wayward young underdog got gradually corrupted and became a *criminal* lawyer. The sitcom version of the show couldn’t have done any of that; its character development and storytelling abilities would’ve been seriously limited.
Better Call Saul Is One Of The Funniest TV Dramas Ever Made
Just because Better Call Saul wasn’t a full-blown sitcom, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t funny. Similar to Breaking Bad, it’s one of the funniest TV dramas ever made. There’s still plenty of character humor and situational comedy in Better Call Saul; it’s just planted in the middle of a much more layered narrative with much more three-dimensional characters. From Jimmy’s ridiculous scams to Mike’s dry one-liners, Better Call Saul is full of hilarious moments.
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In a way, Gilligan and Gould got to have their cake and eat it, too. By making Better Call Saul as an hour-long drama, they were able to recapture what was so great about Breaking Bad — the serialized storytelling and in-depth character development — while still featuring all the comedy they would’ve imbued into the sitcom version. Better Call Saul might not be a traditional sitcom, but it’s funnier than most sitcoms.
Source: Rolling Stone
Better Call Saul follows small-time lawyer Jimmy McGill as he navigates the legal world to make ends meet. The series, set six years before his encounter with Walter White, chronicles Jimmy’s evolution into Saul Goodman, with notable interactions alongside fixer Mike Ehrmantraut.
- Cast
- Adam Dorn , Bob Odenkirk , Jonathan Banks , Peter Gould , Rhea Seehorn , Stacy Keach , Thomas Golubić , Thomas Schnauz , Vince Gilligan , Dave Porter , Junior Brown , Rob Estrada , Gordon Smith , Michael McKean , Patrick Fabian , Michael Mando , Tony Dalton , Giancarlo Esposito , Stoney Westmoreland , Alex Désert , Elisha Yaffe , Chris Mulkey , Jim Beaver , Raymond Cruz , Teddy Eggleston
- Seasons
- 6
- Showrunner
- Peter Gould