Better Call Saul is a TV Show created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, premiered in February 2015 and the debut episode holds the record for the highest-rated scripted series premiere in cable television history. The show stems from the widely popular and cult-followed TV series Breaking Bad, which premiered in 2008 and ran for five seasons before concluding in 2013. The show weaved its narrative around an elderly chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin, Walter White, an intriguing character that evolved on screen from a timid husband to a remorseless and immoral tyrant. Before the show aired last month not much was known about Better Call Saul, except that it was to be a prequel to the events that occurred in Breaking Bad, but would still be a part of the same universe; drawing characters, locations and themes from it’s predecessor. It was also speculated to be more of a comedy/drama series, steering away from the darker, more serious themes of BB.

The popular new show currently has only aired six episodes of the first season, but already the format of storytelling can be differentiated from that of the more event-driven and climactic BB. Better Call Saul focuses on character development of the main character, Jimmy McGill, who had a supporting role in the events of BB. The story unfolds in a manner of flashbacks to previous events, interwoven with the present events. The first episode opens with a glimpse into Saul’s ultimate fate and what his life has become after the events of BB have happened. There are many enigmas and questions left unanswered from BB that Better Call Saul sheds some light onto. The audience gets the back-story to the crooked lawyer, whose real name is Jimmy McGill and rents his office space in the back of an Asian nail salon. The references that are present already within the first six episodes, allude to events and other characters from the show’s predecessor, however it still weaves it’s own standalone narrative to draw a potential new audience in.

When a story is successful, the author or creator may want to create a sequel to continue on with the narrative, add closure, or to resurrect the world and the characters for the loyal fans. Such was the case with BB, however Gilligan and Gould were clever in their process of revisiting their world set in Albuquerque, New Mexico: deciding to continue their story by starting from a point in time before the events of BB occurred. By doing so, they have given themselves more narrative freedom to create and experiment with new characters and ideas, while also developing on the early lives of some characters that their loyal audiences know and love from BB. The series has adopted some key elements of storytelling that Gilligan has carried over, such as the way some shots are constructed to the the sharp and witty dialogue. So far, fans enjoy this revival of the gritty world of the Albuquerque underbelly, but the characters and events in Better Call Saul would not carry as much weight or meaning if they were not first foreshadowed (after-shadowed?) and developed in BB first.