Better Call Saul, the upcoming AMC spinoff/prequel series from the pioneering crime drama, the Emmy-winning Breaking Bad, has added Jonathan Banks to its cast list. Banks, who played the cool-as-a-cucumber, yet deadly like a scorpion’s sting Mike Ehrmantraut on that storied program, has officially signed on to the new series, reports Variety by way of Deadline, who first broke the story.

The new series will follow the always colorful and sure to be seedy at times exploits of lawyer Saul Goodman (played by comedian/writer Bob Odenkirk), the lawyer/go-to-guy when things got rough and tangled — which were usual on Breaking Bad — and a constant metaphoric fix-it-man. With his ambiguous name (said rapidly phonetically, it sounds like the phrase “It’s All Good Man”), questionable tactics, and razor-sharp cynical yet always earnest mind, Goodman was one of the more beloved characters on the AMC show. The upcoming series will showcase Goodman’s life before he met Walter White, Breaking Bad‘s main protagonist turned antagonist, milquetoast chemistry teacher turned eventual drug kingpin, a status Goodman was very instrumental in helping Walt achieve.

Breaking Bad was on the brink of being cancelled before the show found new life when people started to watch it on Netflix. So thanks in part to that, AMC extended the series for a few more seasons and turned it into the critically acclaimed show that it is today. And now, the two are going to make their relationship more public.

Netflix has just announced that it will stream Better Call Saul, the Breaking Bad prequel/sequel, days after each episode airs. Deadline reports Netflix and Breaking Bad producer Sony Pictures Television have all signed a deal that will allow the spinoff series to be available for all of the streaming service’s territories. Which means, the entire series will be ready to watch on Netflix, once season one is complete.

Nebraska
Director: Alexander Payne
Screenwriter: Bob Nelson
Cast: Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb, Stacy Keach, Bob Odenkirk
Paramount Vantage
Rated R | 110 Minutes
Release Date: December 6, 2013

“I told him I ain’t fiddlin’ with no cow titties.”

That’s no-nonsense June Squibb (About Schmidt), who plays a salt-of-the-Earth Midwestern wife in Nebraska, an affectionate and resonate comedy-drama about family dysfunction.

Directed by Alexander Payne (Sideways, The Descendants), the black-and-white film stars Bruce Dern as Woody Grant, a man with dementia from Billings, Montana who is convinced he’s won a million dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.

His son, David (Will Forte, MacGruber), begrudgingly agrees to drive him to Lincoln, Nebraska to claim his winnings. Along the way, father and son visit Woody’s birthplace for an impromptu family reunion where David learns all about his estranged father’s troubled past.

Beautifully shot and brilliantly written, Nebraska is a devastatingly authentic portrait of fathers and sons and the space between them. Alexander Payne is a humanist filmmaker; he cares deeply for his characters no matter their flaws. You know these people – they’re your parents, your siblings – they’re part of your life, for better or worse.

Breaking Bad
Season 5, Episode 16 – “Felina”
Directed and written by Vince Gilligan
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Laura Fraser, and Jesse Plemons
AMC
Air date: September 29, 2013

SPOILERS FOR THE BREAKING BAD SERIES FINALE. You’ve been warned.

“I did it for me…. I was alive.”

So much of Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) Mr. Chips to Scarface journey has been caged with idea that Walter was doing everything for his family. It’s much like the idea that I highlighted a few weeks ago about his Batman-esque “no killing family rule” – the origin of Heisenberg in so many ways came from a place of gray morality for Walter, a justification that was the weakest of crutches as the show progressed.

As a viewer, it’s been clear to me for a while that Walter made every choice because he wanted to do so. And last night finally provided closure to all that.

It’s always been personal for Walt. It’s the thrill, the excitement, and because he was good at being bad.

Breaking Bad
Season 5, Episode 15 – “Granite State”
Directed and written by Peter Gould
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Laura Fraser, and Jesse Plemons
AMC
Air date: September 22, 2013

After all the predicting and guessing I’ve made, turns out the most simple reason of all is the reason behind Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) return to ABQ. Massive spoilers follow.

It’s not Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) or Skyler (Anna Gunn) or Walter Jr (RJ Mitte) that brings Walter White’s newly minted Mr. Lambert back to ABQ. In fact, it’s so much simpler than that. It’s the reason that Breaking Bad has explored for so long.