‘Better Call Saul’: Going into finale, how are ratings holding up?

One of the luxuries that has come with watching “Better Call Saul” this season is knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is ultimately not a reason to worry about this show. AMC gave it an early two-season renewal, a sign of loyalty to a show and a franchise that has helped to revolutionize the network. Sure, “The Walking Dead” is their zombie horde-sized hit, but “Breaking Bad” is one of the reasons why they were on the scripted TV radar to begin with before Robert Kirkman and company came around.

In the end, we were curious to see how Saul would fare this season given that it is airing on Monday nights (not a typical AMC programming night), and that it also did not have the hype surrounding it due to the show coming to a quick end. Overall, Monday’s episode drew around a 1.1 rating in the 18-49 demographic, which is its lowest of the season. Is that troublesome? Not really. This show is doing close-to-broadcast numbers, is a killing machine with DVR viewers, and is also probably going to run away with buzz in the streaming arena. One thing that probably has not been discussed enough as of late is that the episodes should be available without too long of a wait on Netflix, which is what helped “Breaking Bad” become so huge.

Going into the “Better Call Saul” finale, the stakes are clearly high. Jimmy McGill feels hurt and vulnerable after his own brother Chuck sold him out, and he has learned that his own twisted form of morality supersedes any sort of loyalty that he has to his family. To Jimmy, this stings severely, and it could cause him to develop more of the Slippin’ Jimmy / Saul persona. Before that we had a man who did try for the most part to do the right thing, even if there were some ulterior motives in there from time to time.

“Better Call Saul” season 2 should enter production later this year, and then premiere come early 2016.

(Photo: AMC.)