‘Mad Men’ Final Season Sets April Premiere, ‘Better Call Saul’ to November 2014
AMC certainly turned a number of heads with its decision to extend the longevity of its most popular series, dividing the final season of 'Mad Men' into 2014 and 2015, while moving forward on its 'Breaking Bad' spinoff 'Better Call Saul,' but when can viewers finally see either premiere?
According to AMC's announcement from the ongoing Television Critics Association press tour, the first half of the 'Mad Men' final season will premiere one week behind 'Game of Thrones' season 4, returning Don Draper to the fold on Sunday, April 13. The ever-popular Emmy winner will air seven episodes in 2014, later finishing off "the end of an era" with the final seven episodes in 2015.
Elsewhere, it seems 'Better Call Saul' is moving full steam ahead, eying a November 2014 premiere for the prequel adventures of Saul Goodman. And while there may yet include aspects of Saul's post-'Breaking Bad' life, AMC programming head Joel Stillerman recently opened up to Vulture a bit about the nature of the series:
It is a prequel, it explores what went into shaping the incredibly compelling and idiosyncratic and funny and somewhat tragic character of Saul Goodman. I think the other thing that’s really great about Saul: Vince and Peter Gould, who are partners on the show, talk a lot about really reinventing the tone of what it means to be a drama. There have been a number of dramas on the air that have had comedic elements. But I think they really want to push the envelope in terms of what it means to take you on an emotional roller coaster ride, and make you laugh, and break your heart and stretch the boundaries of where you can go emotionally within the context of a drama.
Saul’s obviously a very funny character, and there’s going to be a lot of comedy in that show. But they felt at the end of the day that it was best crafted as a drama, and that would give them the latitude storytelling-wise and character-wise to really go into a sort of unprecedented range of emotions.
Well, what do you think? Are you anxious to catch up with Don Draper this April, or upset the final episodes won't air until 2015? How do you think 'Better Call Saul' will shape up by its November debut?