Over the course of its acclaimed six-season run, AMC's Better Call Saul became the rare spin-off series that not only lived up to its predecessor, Breaking Bad, but arguably even surpassed it — well, at least, depending on who you ask. Whether the prolonged misadventures of Saul Goodman, a.k.a. Jimmy McGill a.k.a. Gene Takovic, were on par or even better than its predecessor or not, it's clear that co-creators Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan made a compelling, compulsive follow-up that warranted the addictive, well-earned fanaticism of its elder sibling series. So, when it came time to bring Goodman's expansive, nearly-decade-long saga to its much-anticipated conclusion, it's no wonder that the prequel/sequel show drew in a lot of views.
More specifically, Better Call Saul's finale earned an audience of 2.7 million viewers on AMC, averaging 1.1 million adults between the ages of 25-54. Suffice it to say, a lot of people answered Saul's call.
According to Nielsen live+3 ratings, as Deadline reported, Better Call Saul's series finale was the most-watched episode on AMC since the series' season three finale back on June 19th, 2017, which garnered 1.8 million viewers. Furthermore, as the publication notes, Gould and Gilligan's sequel show is the third most-watched cable drama for the current broadcast season in all the key demographics. That's quite a win for a station that hasn't always been able to translate its previous decade's success into the present.
Better Call Saul Season 6 Ending Explained: One Last Defense
While the show had a built-in audience who loved what Gilligan did with Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul needed to earn its own audience over time. For as good as Breaking Bad was, it wouldn't be enough to make (most) people stay invested in the continued adventures of Saul Goodman, a former comic relief personality who often stole the show in select scenes but rarely rose above charming side character. Gould and company needed to renew our interest in this colorful world, these new and returning characters, and the re-established stakes, especially in a series that primarily takes place before the events that transpire in Breaking Bad. It was a tricky balancing act, and the fact that the show creators were able to pull it off with aplomb is certainly nothing to squeeze at. While viewers aren't always an indication of a show's quality, in this particular case, the renewed interest in Better Call Saul is quite a testament to the talents of the people involved in the making of this stylized TV universe.
Indeed, since this final season premiered, Better Call Saul has remained a top-performing series for AMC and AMC+, both in viewership and in acquisition. Each episode in this final hurrah earned an average of 2.2 million viewers and grew more than 70 percent each week from live/same-day viewers. Not unlike the last season of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul proved to be an addictive series to watch and binge as it neared its final few hours, and audiences everywhere continued to come back for more and more and even more after that, especially as the finale drew near.
Here's what Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks, said in a statement:
There has been so much said about this final season of ‘Better Call Saul,’ so many accolades directed at this extraordinary piece of television – from viewers, critics and everyone else who knows what an accomplishment it is to deliver entertainment at this level. I just want to cap this final season by saying thank you. Thanks to Peter and Vince and the entire creative team, including Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein. Thanks to Bob, Rhea, Jonathan, Giancarlo and the entire cast. Thanks to our partners at Sony and to every viewer who went along on this legendary ride. We are so proud to have been the home of Better Call Saul for all these years and unforgettable seasons. Now we put this series up on the mantel as a reminder of the excellence we all aspire to every day.
Along with its critical and commercial success, Better Call Saul's last season has also earned seven Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Bob Odenkirk, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Rhea Seehorn, and nominations for its excellence in sound, music, and writing categories. While it never earned quite the same love as Breaking Bad during its time on the air, it's clear that audiences really came to the show towards the end of its run, and the continuing acclaim that it has earned in its final moments is certainly quite warranted.