6 Emmy predictions ahead of Thursday’s nominations announcement

Better Call Saul

Unpopular opinion: I like Better Call Saul better than Breaking Bad. I realize that in TV critic circles such a stance is akin to sacrilege, but it’s true. Jimmy McGill is flawed, but he’s also a character you can’t help rooting for, which I never felt was the case with Walter White. So rewarding the Breaking Bad spin-off with an Emmy or three would not only make me feel better about my television preferences, it would also show that an antihero can be a little more heroic at heart without losing that morally-questionable intrigue.

Obviously, Bob Odenkirk brings this show to life, but the supporting cast here is worth recognizing as well. Michael McKean, who’s actually better known for his comedic work (much like Odenkirk), as Chuck is arguably the best actor on the show. Watching Chuck realize what was happening in the courtroom scene this season after Jimmy pulled the trick with the cellphone battery was television at its best. As Jen Chaney recently described his performance in Vulture:

"McKean displays the symptoms of Chuck’s agony with heartbreaking precision, via the twitching of his hands, the winces that distort his facial features, and the panic in his eyes that erases all traces of his self-assured smugness. Another actor might lean too hard into this type of physicality and render it silly or unbelievable. But McKean’s manifestation of Chuck’s symptoms never comes across as anything other than totally real, even if the cause of those symptoms may be an aberration. When Chuck becomes wildly uncomfortable in his body, he’s also trying to fight that feeling, and McKean consistently displays that tug-of-war between terror and Chuck’s need to maintain order and justice, even within the context of his own panic attacks."

Other characters are just as gripping. Jonathan Banks (someone I did love in Breaking Bad) is flawless as Mike. Rhea Seehorn’s guarded goodness is what makes Kim so compelling. All-around, the show is proof that Godfather 2 isn’t the only follow-up to shine just as brightly as its original.