‘Better Call Saul’ Secrets Every Fan Should Know

The Only Lawyer You Would Want to Call

Better Call Saul started off as one of the greatest spin-offs to a TV show and soon earned itself the right being called an independent story altogether. The fans of Breaking Bad love this show and its time that we revealed the secrets which happened behind the scenes during production.

The Original Idea Was a 30-Minute Comedy

When Breaking Bad was ending, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould joked about a spin-off for Saul Goodman. Their original concept wasn't a prestige drama; it was a half-hour, single-camera comedy. The idea was that each week, a different "client" (like a stand-up comedian) would come into Saul's strip-mall office with a new, wacky legal problem.

Bob Odenkirk and Michael McKean Were SNL Friends

The complex, bitter rivalry between Jimmy and his older brother Chuck has a deep, real-world connection. Bob Odenkirk (Jimmy) and Michael McKean (Chuck) knew each other for decades before Saul. McKean was a cast member on Saturday Night Live in the '90s, at the same time Odenkirk was a writer for the show. This long-standing, real-life friendship made their on-screen betrayal all the more personal and painful.

Rhea Seehorn Had No Idea Who Kim Wexler Was

Kim Wexler is one of the greatest "spin-off" characters ever created, but Rhea Seehorn had almost nothing to go on. When she auditioned, the role was so secret and undefined that she was given a "dummy script" for a generic legal procedural. She auditioned with a single scene, opposite a casting associate, not even knowing it was a Breaking Bad spin-off. Her performance in that one scene essentially created the character of Kim.

The Entire "Gene" Timeline is Based on One Joke

The entire post-Breaking Bad, black-and-white timeline of "Gene Takavic" working at Cinnabon in Omaha, Nebraska, was not some grand plan. It was based on a single, throwaway joke from the Breaking Bad episode "Granite State." As Saul is getting his new identity, he tells Walt: "If I'm lucky, in a month from now, best-case scenario, I'm managing a Cinnabon in Omaha." The writers simply decided to see what that would actually look like.

Nacho Varga Was Also Just a Throwaway Line

Like the Cinnabon job, the show's entire cartel plotline was built from one line of dialogue. In his first-ever Breaking Bad appearance, a panicked Saul is kidnapped by Walt and Jesse. Believing they were sent by the cartel, he screams, "It wasn't me! It was Ignacio! He's the one!" The writers took that one name—"Ignacio" (Nacho)—and built one of the most complex, tragic characters in the entire series.

The "No Fan-Service" Cameo Rule

The writers had one strict rule for Breaking Bad cameos: they would never do one just for "fan service." A character like Hank, Gus, or the Cousins could only appear if their presence was organic and necessary to Jimmy's story before he met Walter White. This rule is what made the cameos feel earned and tragic, rather than gimmicky.

The Zafiro Añejo Tequila Is the Show's Greatest Prop

The show's most brilliant Easter egg is the ultra-expensive Zafiro Añejo tequila, the one with the spiky, agave-shaped bottle stopper. In Better Call Saul, we see Kim and Jimmy conning people to buy bottles of it. This is the exact sametequila that Gus Fring later uses to poison the entire cartel leadership (and himself) in Breaking Bad. The stopper, which Kim kept as a souvenir, becomes the ultimate symbol of their relationship.

Lalo Salamanca Was a Last-Minute "Ghost"

Like Nacho, Lalo was just a throwaway name in Breaking Bad (Saul mentions him in the same panicked breath). He wasn't supposed to be a major character. The writers had planned for another cartel member to be the main villain of Season 4. But they loved the name "Lalo Salamanca" so much that they cast Tony Dalton, who impressed them so deeply that he was promoted to the show's final, terrifying "big bad."

The "Bagman" Desert Shoot Was Torture

The Season 5 episode "Bagman," where Jimmy and Mike are stranded in the desert, is a fan-favorite, but it was a nightmare to film. It was the longest and most difficult shoot of the entire series. Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks were put through the wringer in the hot, remote desert, and Odenkirk has said the physical and emotional toll of that one episode was the most grueling work of his career.

Bob Odenkirk Had a Near-Fatal Heart Attack on Set

This is the show's most terrifying and miraculous behind-the-scenes story. While filming the final season, Bob Odenkirk collapsed on set from a major heart attack. He was technically "dead" for a few moments before the show's on-set health supervisor and an AED (defibrillator) brought him back. His co-stars, Rhea Seehorn and Patrick Fabian, were holding his hand the entire time. After a short recovery, he returned to finish the series.