Are You Ready to Call Saul?

By Anne Cohen February 5, 2015

Courtesy of AMC

Good news “Breaking Bad” fans. On Sunday, our favorite slightly shady, Jewish-impersonating legal mind, Saul Goodman, will be making his comeback on TV and computer screens everywhere.

I’m referring to the premiere of “Better Call Saul,” which airs in two parts on Sunday, February 8 and Monday, February 9 on AMC.

The spinoff stars “Breaking Bad“‘s Bob Odenkirk as James McGill a.k.a. Saul Goodman — “The Jew thing I just do for the homeboys. They all want a pipe-hitting member of the tribe, so to speak,” he [informs a confused Walter White]( (http://www.vulture.com/2015/02/better-call-saul-breaking-bad-saul-goodman.html ‘informs a confused Walter White’).

When we first meet Saul (in season 2, episode 8), he’s an already an established defender of the underworld, known for his low-budget ads. (“I had a good job until my boss accused me of stealing… I better call Saul!”)

We all know the tagline, but Saul’s backstory is murky. Where did he come from? How did he meet Mike Ehrentraut, his tough but lovable enforcer? How did (maybe) honest lawyer James McGill become the legal face of New Mexico’s most wanted? Hopefully, the new show will reveal all that, and more.

Side note: If you’ve never seen “Breaking Bad,” you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. Go watch it now. Or, if catching up on five seasons of masterfully-crafted television doesn’t appeal to you, at least pretend to be in the know by reading Vulture’s excellent recaps here.

No Walt or Jesse in this trailer, but hey, here’s hoping.

Anne Cohen was the Forward’s deputy digital media editor. When she’s not looking for the secret Jewish history of Voodoo in New Orleans, or making lists about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she writes for The Assimilator. She graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism with an M.S. magazine concentration in 2012.

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