Netflix Nabs 'Breaking Bad' Spinoff 'Better Call Saul'

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By Brian Anthony Hernandez2013-12-16 18:31:07 UTC

AMC's hit drama Breaking Bad , which ended its acclaimed five-season run in September, will live in a previously announced spinoff about quirky criminal lawyer Saul Goodman.

On Monday, we learned that the series — titled Better Call Saul after Goodman's office slogan — has found a home for when it's finished airing on AMC in 2014: Netflix.

Following the Better Call Saul finale on AMC in the United States, Netflix will exclusively stream each episode for subscribers in Latin America and Europe "within days." Netflix will also offer the complete season to U.S. subscribers after the finale airs, Netflix and Sony Pictures Television announced Monday.

Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan earlier this year told Mashable that the show may have met its demise after season two had it not been for streaming video on demand, as it ushered in new viewers and encouraged time-starved people to keep watching at their own pace. The result? The series saw enormous growth in viewership from season to season.

"I think Netflix kept us on the air," Gilligan said in September at the Emmy Awards.

The spinoff will star Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman (pictured, above right) and feature occasional cameos from Breaking Bad characters such as lead duo Bryan Cranston as Walter White and Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman. Better Call Saul will reportedly serve as a prequel and sequel to Breaking Bad.

Netflix said Monday the new series "tells the story of mall-based super lawyer Saul Goodman in the years before he became Walter White’s attorney. From parking tickets to mass murder, from slip-and-fall to bond fraud, Saul handles it all."

"Breaking Bad is widely recognized as one of the great TV experiences in this new golden age of television," Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, said in a statement sent to Mashable. "It has also proven very popular with Netflix subscribers around the world. This spinoff promises to continue its tradition of powerful storytelling."

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