‘Better Call Saul’: Vince Gilligan’s Achievement

Now that Better Call Saul has wrapped up its sixth and final season on Monday night with an excellent finale, Vince Gilligan has accomplished what few, if any, television creators ever have: He launched one of the greatest shows ever, then sustained a spin-off that is worthy of its predecessor.

There is a long list of sitcoms between the 1970s and the 1990s that spun off from their original series and had successful runs of their own (Happy Days/Laverne & Shirley; All in the Family/The Jeffersons; Cheers/Frasier). But in those cases, it was just a matter of taking characters from one show and putting them in a different environment for a different set of comedic scenarios.

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Philip Klein

Philip Klein is the editor of National Review Online.

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Now that Better Call Saul has wrapped up its sixth and final season on Monday night with an excellent finale, Vince Gilligan has accomplished what few, if any, television creators ever have: He launched one of the greatest shows ever, then sustained a spin-off that is worthy of its predecessor.

There is a long list of sitcoms between the 1970s and the 1990s that spun off from their original series and had successful runs of their own (Happy Days/Laverne & Shirley; All in the Family/The Jeffersons; Cheers/Frasier). But in those cases, it was just a matter of taking characters from one show and putting them in a different environment for a different set of comedic scenarios.