'Better Call Saul' Season 2 News, Spoilers: EPs Dish on Jimmy's Slow Transformation
AMC's popular "Breaking Bad" spin-off/prequel "Better Call Saul" aired its much-anticipated second season on Monday, Feb. 15.
The new season is expected to depict small-time lawyer Jimmy McGill's (Bob Odenkirk) slow metamorphosis into the future Walter White (Bryan Cranston) accomplice Saul Goodman. But though fans have long been waiting for the flamboyant faux-Jewish titular character to appear on "Better Call Saul," the show's executive producers are purposely slowing down the storytelling, having realized just how likeable Jimmy McGill is.
"You see him on screen and you root for him and he has this likability to Jimmy McGill that was not really there with Saul Goodman," "Better Call Saul" boss Thomas Schnauz told The Hollywood Reporter. "I never would have thought we would feel for him so much or he'd be the character that he is, but it's the combination of what we do in the writers room and what Bob brings to the character that shapes all of it."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
He also admitted that the producers' fondness for the character may be one of the factors behind why Jimmy McGill has yet to fully transform into Saul Goodman on the show. "It's hard to let go of Jimmy right now, as much as a lot of the audience and myself included want to see Saul, I don't want to leave Jimmy behind, so it gets to be a slower transition," Schnauz said.
Nevertheless, the executive producer also assured Saul Goodman fans that the character will definitely poke his head into the season a number of times. "It's just more real this way," he said.
Meanwhile, according to "Better Call Saul" creator Peter Gould, Jimmy is actually a more interesting character than Saul. In an interview with The Guardian, Gould said, "Jimmy certainly has more depth than Saul — it's like he had his soul ironed out of him."
The season 2 premiere episode, titled "Switch," was written and helmed by Schnauz, who also took on both duties for the season 1 episode "Pimento" and for the "Breaking Bad" episode "Say My Name."
According to TV Guide, in next Monday's episode, titled "Cobbler," Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) will try to keep a messy situation under control by brokering a deal as Jimmy attempts to exonerate an "eccentric" client.
The second season of "Better Call Saul" also stars Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler, Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin, Michael Mando as Nacho Varga, and Michael McKean as Chuck McGill.
"Better Call Saul" airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on AMC.
