In a move that fans of the show have been anticipating for years, Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul will finally appear on Better Call Saul in the show’s sixth and final season, due to premiere on April 18 on AMC. “They’re coming back,” AMC tweeted alongside a picture of Cranston and Paul, as their characters Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, respectively.
Better Call Saul is a spinoff to Breaking Bad, which ran for five seasons from 2008 to 2013. Both shows are often regarded as among the greatest television dramas of all time. Breaking Bad told the story of Walter White, a mild-mannered high school science teacher-turned-drug kingpin and his layabout right-hand-man, Jesse Pinkman. Bob Odenkirk starred as Saul Goodman, a weaselly lawyer who becomes their ally. Better Call Saul traces Goodman's origin story.
Series co-creator Peter Gould announced the news at a PaleyFest L.A. panel moderated by Variety and said that he didn’t want to play coy about it. In his own words:
“I don’t want to spoil things for the audience, but I will say the first question we had when we started the show was, ‘Are we gonna see Walt and Jesse on the show?’ Instead of evading, I’ll just say yeah. How or the circumstances or anything, you’ll just have to discover that for yourself, but I have to say that’s one of many things that I think you’ll discover this season.”
At Thursday’s red carpet premiere of the sixth season, Odenkirk told Variety that Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad will intersect more than ever this time. He said:
“I personally feel that the two shows — Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul — are entwined even more than ever in the final season. And I think that’s surprising and cool, and it’s gonna make you want to watch Breaking Bad again.”
Co-creator Vince Gilligan said that he has always believed that “it would be a damn shame” if the Better Call Saul ended without an appearance from Cranston and Paul. The actors, who both won multiple Primetime Emmys for their performances in Breaking Bad, previously reprised their roles in 2019’s Jesse Pinkman-centric sequel film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.
Over the years, several Breaking Bad characters have appeared on Better Call Saul. These include Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis), Don Eladio (Luis Politti), the Salamanca twins (Luis and Daniel Moncada), Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) and Steven Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada). You can check out AMC’s announcement tweet here: