'Better Call Saul' Season 5 Delayed Until 2020

Breaking: Bad news. Better Call Saul season 5 won't arrive until next year. The fantastic AMC series wrapped up season 4 in 2018, but if you were hoping to see what Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman does next, you're going to have to hold your horses. Sarah Barnett, AMC's President, Entertainment Networks, has confirmed the Breaking Bad prequel is on hold in order to accommodate the schedules of certain cast members. While this is understandable, the fact that season 4 wrapped up with such a tense moment makes this longer wait extra painful. 

I've frequently expressed the somewhat controversial opinion around these parts that I find Better Call Saul to be, well, better than Breaking Bad. Don't get me wrong: Breaking Bad is great! I just enjoy the characters and situations of Saul more. As the show has progressed, Bob Odenkirk's Jimmy McGill has come closer and closer to fully becoming Saul Goodman. At the end of season 4, Jimmy seemed to go completely to the dark side, embracing his Goodman persona while alarming his longtime friend and girlfriend Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn). On top of that, Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) finally broke bad, and went from sneaky henchman to full-blown cold-blooded killer. It was a very tense season finale, and made me all the more anxious to jump into season 5.

But I'm going to have to wait. Sarah Barnett, AMC's President, Entertainment Networks, spoke with Vulture and revealed that the show will be on ice until next year. "It's driven by talent needs, which we would not override if it would result in a worse show," Barnett said. This is a wise move. The ensemble cast is one of the key elements that makes Saul so compelling, and to have to work around an absent member would be frustrating. This way, the wait may be longer, but at least all the actors will be back.

As if this news wasn't enough of a bummer, Barnett also more or less confirmed the show doesn't have many seasons left. "Well, we know clearly the end was already written before the beginning began," Barnett said. "The writers, they have a very particular, very clear sense of the arc of their show." When pressed on how close we were to the inevitable conclusion of Saul, Barnett replied: "We're certainly getting closer to it."

I know that sooner or later, Better Call Saul is going to have to catch up to Breaking Bad. I'm just not in a rush to get there. With that in mind, maybe it's good that the show is being delayed a year after all.