James R | On 12, Jul 2014

Better Call Saul will take place six years before Breaking Bad, AMC have confirmed, along with other official plot details.

The spin-off, a prequel to Vince Gilligan’s series, will see Bob Odenkirk return to the role of Walter White’s dodgy lawyer, Saul Goodman, in early 2015. Joining Odenkirk will be Jonathan Banks, reprising his role as fixer Mike Ehrmantraut.

Speculation has been rife about other details of the show, whether it would be funny or serious, who else would appear from the Breaking Bad universe, whether it would overlap with events we’ve already seen. (Lavell Crawford has recently said he has had some “interesting calls” about returning as Huell, saying there “ain’t no word yet but I’m on their map”.)

Now, speaking on the Television Critics’ Association Press Tour, AMC have confirmed that the programme is set six years before Saul meets Walter for the first time.

His name, though, is not Saul: it’s Jimmy.

The series will follow Jimmy McGill as he transforms into Saul. Starting out as a small-time lawyer searching for his destiny, he hustles to make ends meet alongside, and often against, Mike. The series’ tone will be “dramatic, woven through with dark humour”.

Better Call Saul’s cast will also include Michael McKean (This is Spinal Tap) as Jimmy’s brother, Chuck, Rhea Seehorn (House of Lies) as Kim, Patrick Fabian (Grey’s Anatomy) as Hamlin, and Michael Mando (Orphan Black) as Nacho — characters that will represent both legitimate and illegitimate sides of the law.

Vince Gilligan and Breaking Bad writer and producer Peter Gould created the show together and are co-showrunners of the premiere season. Gilligan has directed the first episode of the series, which will span 10 episodes – and AMC are obviously happy with what they’ve seen. The programme has already been greenlit for a second season of a further 13 episodes.

Netflix has the exclusive streaming rights to the show in the UK and will release the show here alongside the US broadcast.

Photo by Ursula Coyote/AMC

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