The third season of the American television drama series Better Call Saul premiered on April 10, 2017, and concluded on June 19, 2017. The ten-episode season was broadcast on Mondays in the United States on AMC. Better Call Saul is a spin-off of Breaking Bad created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould who also worked on Breaking Bad.
The third season, unlike the first two, mainly takes place in 2003, a year after the events of the first two seasons. Bob Odenkirk reprises his role as James Morgan "Jimmy" McGill, a lawyer who is engaged in a sibling-feud with his brother Chuck (Michael McKean), who wants to take Jimmy to court for tampering with his papers. Jonathan Banks also reprises his role as Mike Ehrmantraut, who is in partnership with Gustavo Fring and Nacho Varga, who are trying to murder their rival, Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis).
Video Better Call Saul (season 3)
Production
Casting
This season of Better Call Saul features the return of several Breaking Bad cast members, most notably Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring), who returned in the second episode "Witness". In a Q&A with AMC, Esposito expressed excitement on his return into the Breaking Bad world saying "I'm extremely excited. I'm over the moon. I love this family of filmmakers a great deal. I know Better Call Saul is a little bit of a different show than Breaking Bad was and I love the success it's had. It has such wonderful talent in the show. Bob Odenkirk is just stellar. Obviously the opportunity to tell some of the backstory of Gus and how he rose to power and how he came to be is always something I've wanted to explore in a very subtle way in the right venue." He also distinguished the show's version of Gus from the original show describing his character as "a little fresher, a little less jaded. The time period alone takes us to a time where his look may be little bit different. I wanted him to be little more hopeful, a little more energetic, maybe not as definitive in some of his actions because he's a Gus that we've never met before."
All of the main cast returned for this season. Bob Odenkirk returns as James Morgan "Jimmy" McGill. Jonathan Banks returns as Mike Ehrmantraut. Rhea Seehorn returns as Kimberly "Kim" Wexler. Michael McKean returns as Charles L. "Chuck" McGill, Jr., Jimmy's elder brother. Patrick Fabian returns as Howard Hamlin and Michael Mando as Ignacio "Nacho" Varga.
Filming
Better Call Saul is set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the same location as its predecessor.
In the first scene from the first episode of season 3, Saul is at his workplace in a Nebraska Cinnabon. This scene in the first three season premieres are all set in Omaha, but all three scenes were filmed in Albuquerque at the Cottonwood mall.
Mark Margolis, who plays kingpin Hector Salamanca, suffered severe head injuries, requiring him to have brain surgery, following the accident during the production of the third season of Better Call Saul.
Maps Better Call Saul (season 3)
Cast and characters
Main
- Bob Odenkirk as James Morgan "Jimmy" McGill, a lawyer, who is involved in a sibling-feud with his brother Chuck.
- Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut, who is engaged in a feud with the Salamanca drug-cartel.
- Rhea Seehorn as Kimberly "Kim" Wexler, Jimmy's close friend and love interest who sets up a law firm with him.
- Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin, a partner of Chuck at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill and Jimmy's rival.
- Michael Mando as Ignacio "Nacho" Varga, a member of Tuco Salamanca's gang, who secretly works with Mike in taking down Hector.
- Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo "Gus" Fring, a methamphetamine distributor who uses his fast food restaurant chain Los Pollos Hermanos as a front.
- Michael McKean as Charles L. "Chuck" McGill, Jr., Jimmy's elder brother, who allegedly suffers from electromagnetic hypersensitivity.
Recurring
- Mark Margolis as Hector Salamanca, Tuco's uncle.
- Jeremiah Bitsui as Victor, Gus' henchman, reprising his role from Breaking Bad.
- Kerry Condon as Stacey Ehrmantraut, Mike's daughter-in-law and the mother of Kaylee Ehrmantraut.
- Tina Parker as Francesca Liddy, Saul's secretary, reprising her role from Breaking Bad.
- Omar Maskati as Omar, Jimmy's assistant at Davis & Main.
- Vincent Fuentes as Arturo, a criminal associate of Hector Salamanca.
- Rex Linn as Kevin Wachtell, chairman of Mesa Verde Bank and Trust and a client of HHM and Kim.
- Cara Pifko as Paige Novick, senior legal counsel for Mesa Verde Bank and Trust and a friend of Kim.
- Ann Cusack as Rebecca Bois, Chuck's ex-wife.
- Tamara Tunie as as Anita, a support group member.
- Manuel Uriza as Ximenez Lecerda, an associate of Hector Salamanca.
- Josh Fadem as Camera Guy, a film student who helps Jimmy on various projects.
- Hayley Holmes as Drama Girl, a film student who helps Jimmy on various projects.
- Brandon K. Hampton as Ernesto, Chuck's assistant who works at HHM.
- Jean Effron as Irene, an elderly client of Jimmy McGill overcharged by the Sandpiper Crossing.
Guests
- Max Arciniega as Domingo "Krazy-8" Molina, reprising his role from Breaking Bad.
- Ray Campbell as Tyrus, reprising his role from Breaking Bad.
- Laura Fraser as Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, reprising her role from Breaking Bad.
- Lavell Crawford as Huell Babineaux, reprising his role from Breaking Bad.
- Steven Bauer as Don Eladio, reprising his role from Breaking Bad.
- Brendan Fehr as Bauer, a military captain.
- John Getz as Chairman
- Mel Rodriguez as Marco Pasternak
- Clea DuVall as Dr. Lara Cruz
- Javier Grajeda as Juan Bolsa
- Mark Proksch as Daniel Wormald
- Jessie Ennis as Erin Brill
Episodes
Talking Saul
Reception
The third season of Better Call Saul, much like the first two, received critical acclaim, particularly for the character development of Jimmy McGill. On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season has an approval rating of 97% based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 8.82/10. The site's critical consensus is, "Better Call Saul shows no signs of slipping in season 3, as the introduction of more familiar faces causes the inevitable transformation of its lead to pick up exciting speed." On the review aggregator website Metacritic, the season has a score of 87 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Terri Schwartz of IGN gave the third season as a whole 9.1/10, praising Jimmy's character development, stating, "Better Call Saul was better than it's ever been in Season 3." Verne Gay of Newsday gave it an "A+" grade and wrote, "Based on the first two episodes, Saul is making a case that it could be even better than Breaking Bad."
Ratings
- Notes
+ Live +7 ratings were not available, so Live +3 ratings have been used instead.
Accolades
Home media
The third season was released on Blu-ray and DVD in region 1 on January 16, 2018. The set contains all 10 episodes, plus audio commentaries for every episode and several behind-the-scenes featurettes.
References
External links
- Official website
- List of Better Call Saul episodes on IMDb
Source of article : Wikipedia
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