Hollywood Is Cooked: Acclaimed 'Better Call Saul' Series Sets Dubious Record After Emmy Snub
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
As is often the case at these sorts of award shows, the 75th Emmy Awards on Jan. 15 featured a healthy number of winners and therefore an even bigger number of losers.
Despite that, one loser appears to stand head and shoulders above the other losers — and it couldn’t be a more fitting show.
The wildly popular and beloved crime drama “Better Call Saul,” which focuses on the trials and tribulations of down-on-his-luck lawyer Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman, has been one of the most consistently great shows since it debuted in 2015.
That’s both a mild surprise and not a surprise at all for the simple fact “Better Call Saul” is a spinoff of the monstrously popular “Breaking Bad.”
It’s not a surprise that “Better Call Saul” is good, given the quality of “Breaking Bad” and other Vince Gilligan-produced projects, but most spinoffs that don’t star Kelsey Grammer tend not to do very well.
And in fact, when the show first began, it appeared headed toward being yet another wayward spinoff, given that the show was initially met with apathy and indifference from “Breaking Bad” fans who didn’t particularly care for McGill/Goodman, the crooked lawyer sidekick.
The iciness eventually melted away when word of mouth began to trickle out about “Better Call Saul,” and the show’s popularity exponentially grew.
Fast forward to today (“Saul” ended in 2022), and there are large contingents of “Breaking Bad” fans who will now begrudgingly admit that “Better Call Saul” might even be a better show than the one it spun off from.
But where swathes of stubborn fans could eventually be convinced to give “Better Call Saul” a chance, the Emmy award voters simply could not and did not.
And because of that, “Better Call Saul” will finish its illustrious run with zero Emmy wins, despite a whopping 53 nominations — and one dubious record.
As pointed out by Variety, it is the most snubbed show in television history after failing to secure any Emmy wins in its final chance to do so.
“Better Call Saul” will finish its television run with a brutal zero-for-53, despite nominations across a variety of categories, including for best lead actor for Bob Odenkirk (McGill/Goodman), best supporting actress for Rhea Seehorn (she portrayed McGill’s love interest, Kim Wexler) and best drama.
That’s a record, and one that may be tough to top anytime soon.
“Better Call Saul” joins the ranks of fellow critically acclaimed (but winless) shows such as fellow crime drama “The Wire” and the beloved and highly quirky comedy series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”
For what it’s worth, at least one “Better Call Saul” writer doesn’t seem too worried about being “just” critically acclaimed.
WE DID IT!!!! https://t.co/rrgUjs5Flb
— Thomas Schnauz (@TomSchnauz) January 16, 2024
“Better Call Saul” ran for six seasons and 63 episodes.
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