10 Best TV Performances Of 2016
3. Bob Odenkirk - Better Call Saul
As a spin-off/prequel to one of the greatest TV series of all time, there's a lot of pressure on Better Call Saul to live up to its predecessor. To its credit, the show has very much headed in its own direction, and - after a superb second season - is becoming essential viewing in its own right.
Leading the way is Bob Odenkirk, who is playing the character we know will, one day, make the transition into slimeball lawyer Saul Goodman.
For now, though, he's still Jimmy McGill, although with each passing episode of Season 2 we see him Slippin' closer and closer towards Saul. That's one of the great things about Odenkirk's performance. We know where we ends up - and even where that guy ends up - so he has to gradually seed the idea of Saul, while introducing us to and making us care about Jimmy.
He's taken a supporting character, one often played for comic relief, and turned him into one of TV's most tragic protagonists. It's a joy watching how McGill becomes Goodman, but it's heartbreaking as well. Odenkirk's turn makes him easily likeable and charming, but it's the subtleties and push-and-pull between Jimmy and Saul that make him - and this show - truly worth investing in.