‘Better Call Saul’ is Cable’s Highest Rated New Show

AMC’s Better Call Saul wrapped up its freshman season last week, and it is officially cable’s top rated new series of the season.

The Breaking Bad spinoff series had the highest amount of viewers (an average of 5.9 million per episode) as well as the highest amount of viewers in the 18-49 demographic (3.7 million) and the 25-54 demographic (3.6 million) for a new cable show.

Better Call Saul’s first season was off to strong start, premiering back in February right after an episode of The Walking Dead to a record 6.9 million viewers. For the remainder of its ten-episode season, ratings held steady. 5.1 million tuned into the season finale last week.

“As much as we enjoyed the year-plus gestation period that included friends, fans, critics and even family members telling us not to mess with the legacy of ‘Breaking Bad’ (one of the most beloved series in television history), this was never anything we took even close to lightly. Happily, the first season of ‘Better Call Saul’ delivered on every level imaginable thanks to the continued brilliance of, and enjoyable partnership with, Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould,” AMC president Charlie Collier said in a statement. “The broad and passionate response to their incredibly well-executed vision, and to the achievements of the entire writing team, cast, crew, our studio partner, Sony, and – of course, notably, the remarkable Bob Odenkirk – is so well-deserved. ‘Better Call Saul’ has already established itself as one of TV’s top dramas, and we can’t wait to share season two as Slippin’ Jimmy continues his metamorphosis into full-on Sauldom.”

Better Call Saul has already been renewed for a second season.