Nine years ago, the massive hit TV show Breaking Bad saw its conclusion to unanimous critical acclamation. Here’s why its spin-off show, ‘Better Call Saul’ might just be better.

Breaking Bad is regarded by many as one of the greatest TV shows of all time. That’s why when a spin-off featuring the show’s goofy comic relief character, ‘Saul Goodman’ was announced, the announcement was met with a lot of skepticism. How can you possibly top one of the greatest shows ever? Better Call Saul was seen by many as nothing but a gimmick show to capitalize on the original show's success. Regardless of the early hesitance, the show has been getting more and more traction with every season released.

Better Call Saul takes a more nuanced look into the character known as ‘Saul Goodman’, as in this show he’s presented more as Jimmy McGill. Seeing Saul’s progression as a normal guy who had been handed the wrong pair of cards into his cunning Saul Goodman character is a treat to watch. Slowly but surely, you see the decisions that change his life in small or large meaningful ways, and it slowly hits you how he turned out the way he is in Breaking Bad. He starts as someone trying to be good, but is constantly painted as a mess-up who’ll never get anything right. It’s fascinating to watch his relationships develop with the surrounding characters and see how the story takes drastic turns with his actions.

That brings us to the next point: characters. The show's characters are debatably written stronger than the cast of Breaking Bad. Walter and Jesse stand out as the best characters in that show, but you may be left frustrated by characters like Skyler and Marie. In Better Call Saul, the cast is much more likeable as the show takes more of a backseat to develop them all. Kim Wexler serves as Saul’s partner in crime, and his brother Chuck acts as a sort of antagonist to Saul’s ambition for law.

Better Call Saul starts as a comedic legal drama, but then gradually develops into the high-tension and action-filled show we know from Breaking Bad. The show's second main lead, Mike Ehrmantraut, leads this as we get to see his backstory and many other characters involved with the cartel, such as the famous Gus Fring. Throughout the seasons, you see Mike’s and Saul’s stories overlap, leading to moments where our goofy main character is faced with life-threatening situations. 

Is Better Call Saul truly better than Breaking Bad? It truly depends, but just being compared to or even praised more than one of the all-time greats is a testament to how high-quality Better Call Saul is. The show is wrapping up in a couple of months, and you may want to be there for when it ends, so now’s a fantastic time to catch up!