Better Call Saul

Jimmy McGill wants to be taken seriously. Better Call Saul makes that apparently modest ambition the beginning of a legal drama in which every shortcut has a tempting explanation. Bob Odenkirk gives Jimmy enough charm that understanding him and trusting him become very different things.

The series grows out of Breaking Bad, but its strongest relationships do not need borrowed excitement. Jimmy's brother Chuck and fellow lawyer Kim Wexler give his choices personal stakes. A disagreement over professional respect can be as absorbing as a criminal threat because so much has accumulated beneath it.

Patience is part of the appeal. The show will follow the practical work of a scheme or a legal argument rather than hurry to its outcome. That detail makes ingenuity satisfying and bad decisions harder to dismiss as something the plot simply needed.

Watch Breaking Bad first if you want to preserve its discoveries; this companion also reaches beyond straightforward prequel territory. Expect a slower rhythm and a greater interest in negotiation, pride and self-justification. The extra time with Jimmy is the point, not an obstacle to getting to Saul.