Attention all Breaking Bad fans, everyone’s favorite lawyer is back! The spin-off series airs every Tuesday and is available on Netflix. The series has been hotly anticipated, so has it lived up to expectations so far? In a word, yes. In fact if anything Better Call Saul has exceeded all expectations.

Although it is a spin off series, anyone who has not seen Breaking Bad (yes, there may still be some of us living under a rock) can easily view Better Call Saul as it is an independent series. In fact, as impressive as Breaking Bad is, this series is really too good to be seen as a spin-off. High praise after only four episodes right? Well Better Call Saul deserves all these plaudits and more.

The series centres around Jimmy McGill, a down on his luck public defender trying to build his own law firm from the ground up. Jimmy is living in the shadow of his reclusive brother Chuck’s law firm, now run by Jimmy’s arch enemy, Hamlin. As cunning and devious as he is resourceful, Jimmy is literally willing to do whatever it takes to make his way to the top and this makes for extremely entertaining viewing.

In Breaking Bad Jimmy (known as Saul) is an entertaining and mainly humorous character. This led to many people predicting Better Call Saul would be mainly a comedy. However, while there are many comedic elements to the show, to label it purely as a comedy would be limiting the series. In truth it is more of a drama, thus far anyway.

We are to expect expect some cameos from the Breaking Bad characters with one show favourite already a constant,  Mike (Jonathan Banks). We meet Mike as a disillusioned parking attendant in Better Call Saul, but he undoubtedly has a bigger role to play as the series develops.

Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould have definitely got it right again after their highly successful production breakthrough in Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul differs from Breaking Bad as it is very much Jimmy’s story (so far anyway) whereas Breaking Bad had two protagonists in Walt and Jessie. but this is a good thing, and the show looks like it has massive potential. Bob Odenkirk (Jimmy) has flourished in the main role after his bit part character in Breaking Bad. For those of you who haven’t started watching yet, I have three words: Better Call Saul.

By James Cox