Better Call Saul, airing on AMC, became the uncommon spin-off series that not only met but perhaps excelled its predecessor, Breaking Bad, during the course of its critically praised six-season run. Whether or not you thought the extended misadventures of Saul Goodman, a.k.a. Jimmy McGill, a.k.a. Gene Takovic, were as good as or better than the first season, it’s clear that Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan made a compelling, compulsive follow-up that deserved the addictive, well-deserved fanaticism of the first season.
It’s little surprise that the prequel/sequel programme was popular when it finally concluded Goodman’s epic, nearly decade-long narrative. In particular, the final episode of Better Call Saul attracted 2.7 million viewers on AMC, including an average of 1.1 million people aged 25-54. To say that many individuals responded to Saul’s appeal would be an understatement. According to Nielsen live+3 ratings, as reported by Deadline, the series finale of Better Call Saul drew in 1.8 million viewers, making it AMC’s most-watched episode since the series’ third-season finale on June 19, 2017. Gould and Gilligan’s follow-up series is the third most-watched cable drama of the current broadcast season, according to the publication’s data on viewership among the key demographics.
This is a huge victory for the station, which has struggled to maintain its popularity since the 2000s. A fanbase already existed thanks to those who appreciated what Gilligan had accomplished with Breaking Bad, but Better Call Saul had to build its own following from scratch. Even if Breaking Bad had been even better, it wouldn’t have been enough to keep (most) viewers interested in Saul Goodman, the show’s erstwhile comedic relief who occasionally grabbed the spotlight but never became more than a lovely supporting character. Since this series takes place before the events of Breaking Bad, Gould and the team had to do a lot to pique our interest in this vibrant universe, these new and returning people, and the re-established stakes.
It was no easy feat, so the producers of the programme deserve a lot of credit for pulling it off so well. Although viewership isn’t necessarily a measure of a show’s quality, the recent surge in interest in Better Call Saul is a credit to the skills of everyone who helped create this hyper-cinematic TV universe. Better Call Saul has been consistent ratings and acquisition success for AMC and AMC+ ever since its eighth and final season debuted. The average viewership for the series last season was over 2.2 million, with week-to-week gains from live/same-day viewing of over 70%. Similar to the last hours of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul became increasingly difficult to stop watching as the climax drew closer, and viewers everywhere kept coming back for more.
Dan McDermott, AMC Networks’ head of entertainment and AMC Studios, issued the following statement: Viewers, critics, and anybody else who appreciates the difficulty of producing entertainment of this calibre have all had enough to say about the fifth and final season of “Better Call Saul.” As this season comes to a close, I just wanted to express my gratitude. The whole creative team, especially Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein, deserves credit, but special thanks go to Peter and Vince. Special appreciation to Bob, Rhea, Jonathan, Giancarlo, and the rest of the cast. Our thanks to Sony, our production partners, and to everyone who watched and helped make this journey into legend.
We’re happy to call ourselves Better Call Saul’s home for so many memorable seasons. To always be reminded of the high standards we hold ourselves to, we have framed this series and placed it on the fireplace. Seven Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Bob Odenkirk, and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Rhea Seehorn, as well as nominations for its excellence in sound, music, and writing, attest to Better Call Saul’s last season’s critical and commercial success. The programme may not have had the same level of fanfare as Breaking Bad when it was airing, but its continued success after its termination of production is well deserved.