Breaking Badhad a fantastic spinoff show in the form ofBetter Call Saul, with the prequel surprising everyone by being at least as good as its parent project, butAMC developed another spinoff that went under the radarfor four big reasons. 2019’sEl Camino: A Breaking Badmovie also made worthwhile contributions to the show’s universe, showing what happened to Aaron Paul’s Jessie Pinkmanafter the end ofBreaking Bad. After three brilliant projects set within the same canon, it seemed as though the producers couldn’t miss, but they finally ended their hot streak in 2022.
Breaking Badhas a specific tone. It’s a grounded and high-stakes show, but also very character-driven.Better Call SaulandEl Caminomanaged to replicate that formula, which is why they worked and how they managed to feel so authentic to the initial vision. Bob Odenkirk leading theBetter Call Saulcastnaturally led to the show having a little more fun thanBreaking Bad, but it toed the line perfectly and never became a true comedy. However, just as theend ofBetter Call Saulneared, AMC tried to double down on what Odenkirk’s performance had offered them.
2022 brought with itBetter Call Saul Presents: Slippin' Jimmy, and it remains a blemish on theBreaking Baduniverse. Although it could technically be accepted into the main canon, it’s best to just ignore that it even exists. Consisting of just 8 short episodes,Slippin' Jimmywas billed as a prequel toBetter Call Saul, showing the early years of Bob Odenkirk’s Jimmy McGill. The actor didn’t return to reprise his role in the animated spinoff.
AMC’s ambition should be respected, even thoughSlippin' Jimmywas a resounding failure.
AMC’s ambition should be respected, even thoughSlippin' Jimmywas a resounding failure. There have been instances of animated projects adding to the lore of a live-action series, buttheBreaking Baduniverse probably wasn’t suited to such a niche worldbuilding technique. That said, it did have promise, and probably could have been a little more worthwhile if it hadn’t felt so thoughtlessly thrown together.
Jimmy McGill’s earliest shown years look incredibly low-budget
Allthe live-actionBreaking Badprojects are brilliantly shot, with stellar camerawork and award-winning direction. An animated addition to the franchise needed to at least attempt to live up to those visuals, but it didn’t seem to be concerned with the quality of its aesthetics. While the animation ofSlippin' Jimmydoes the job, it reminds me more of the flash cartoons that were so popular on the internet of yesteryear, and looked nothing like a show with the backing of a studio like AMC.
At the same time as looking like an indie project from the mid-2000s,Slippin' Jimmywas quite obviously trying to base its look on modern-day animated shows likeBig Mouth.
At the same time as looking like an indie project from the mid-2000s,Slippin' Jimmywas quite obviously trying to base its look on modern-day animated shows likeBig Mouth. Now,Big Mouthdoesn’t look amazing, but it has a very simple and effective style thatSlippin' Jimmystill failed to live up to. When each episode often clocked in at under 10 minutes long, this is even more disappointing.
A Saul Goodman Series Was Never Going To Work Without Bob Odenkirk
Odenkirk’s input behind and in front of the camera for Better Call Saul helped make it what it was
As mentioned earlier, Bob Odenkirk, who played Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman throughoutBreaking BadandBetter Call Saul, didn’t return to voice his younger self inSlippin' Jimmy. Instead, the role went to Sean Giombrone, most known for his roles as Adam Goldberg inMeet the Goldbergsand Yumyulack inSolar Opposites.Odenkirk perfectly embodies the character of Jimmy McGill, so it was always going to be a risk to replace him, and it didn’t pay off. That said, I’m glad he was allowed to focus onBetter Call Saulrather than splitting his time between that andSlippin' Jimmy.
Odenkirk’s role inBetter Call Saulwent beyond his performance as the show’s title character. He also served as a producer, with his experience of already being part of theBreaking Baduniverse beforeBetter Call Saulproving to be instrumental to the show’s success. He had an innate feel for howBetter Call Saulshould be, andno one understood the character of Jimmy McGill like Bob Odenkirk. So, it’s not surprising at all that his absence fromSlippin' Jimmywas a big part of the reason why the animated show flopped.
There are very few genuinely funny moments in Slippin' Jimmy
Slippin' Jimmycould have been an insightful look into Jimmy McGill’s formative yearswhile also being funny. Unfortunately, it achieved neither of these goals. While it was clear when the show was trying to make jokes, they almost never landed. The scripts left a lot to be desired and felt very directionless, even for their short runtimes and focus on physical gags and lackluster quips. Paired with the underwhelming animation style, the boring stories inSlippin' Jimmymade it stand out in all the worst ways.
Slippin' Jimmy’s highest-rated episode onIMDbhas a score of just 5.0/10.
What makesSlippin' Jimmy’s scripts and their lack of quality even more surprising is the duo that wrote all eight.Ariel Levine and Kathleen Williams-Foshee were both involved withBetter Call Saul. Both were part of the writing team, with Levine serving as a staff writer on nine episodes of the Odenkirk-led spinoff, and Williams-Foshee being credited as the script supervisor for 43 installments. So, it’s not as though they were newcomers, but maybe the shift in genre from drama to comedy just didn’t suit them.
Slippin' Jimmy Needed A Better Reason To Exist In The AMC Franchise
The animated show felt more like a hollow marketing stunt for Better Call Saul season 6
More than anything,Slippin' Jimmycomes across as little more than a marketing stunt to help promoteBetter Call Saul’s final season, which premiered shortly afterSlippin' Jimmy’s lone season ended. Not only do I thinkBetter Call Saulwas successful enough not to require such a gimmicky form of promotion, but the project that was brought into existence for this reason didn’t even justify the confusing decision to make an animated addition to theBreaking Baduniverse.
If something likeSlippin' Jimmyhad to exist, it would have been a much better move to tie it in more directly with something that happened to Odenkirk’s character in eitherBreaking BadorBetter Call Saul. Simply making the cartoon for the sake of generating more content hurt the otherwise brilliant track record for the beloved crime franchise. Thankfully, it hasn’t harmed the legacy ofBreaking BadorBetter Call Saul.
