Saul Goodman

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Saul first appeared in "Better Call Saul" (2009), the eighth episode of Breaking Bad's second season. He was created to provide Walt and Jesse with a guide for their criminal activities and to replace Hank Schrader as Breaking Bad's comic relief. Although Odenkirk was initially cast for only four episodes as a guest actor, he became integral to the Breaking Bad narrative after Gilligan and Gould were impressed by his performance; Odenkirk subsequently joined the main cast in the third season and remained through to the fifth and final season of the show. Better Call Saul's main storyline depicts Saul's origins as the aspiring lawyer Jimmy McGill and his moral deterioration in the six years before the events of Breaking Bad.

In Their Own Story

The post-Breaking Bad storyline features Saul living under the assumed name Gene Takavic (TAK-ə-vik), exploring the consequences of his actions. The character also appeared in the animated short-form series Slippin' Jimmy (2022), a spin-off of Better Call Saul which follows his childhood misadventures.

Reader's Guide

Saul Goodman is an alias derived from the phrase "it's all good, man." James Morgan McGill was born on November 12, 1960, in Cicero, Illinois. He worked at his parents' corner store before becoming a con artist known as "Slippin' Jimmy" for staging "slip and fall" accidents. His older brother is Charles Willard McGill. Odenkirk was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series six times for his performance in Better Call Saul, tying the record for most nominations without a win in the category.

Did You Know?

• Saul Goodman's name is a play on the phrase "it's all good, man" so that even simple-minded clients could remember it when arrested.
• Bob Odenkirk was initially cast for only four episodes but joined the main cast in the third season after his performance impressed the creators.
• Odenkirk based the character's speaking style on producer Robert Evans and practiced by reading The Kid Stays in the Picture.
• The writers made Saul more comical to fill the void left when Hank Schrader suffered trauma from seeing Tortuga's severed head.
• A billboard for "James M. McGill, Attorney at Law" was placed in Albuquerque in 2014 as a publicity stunt, connected to a voicemail recorded by Odenkirk.