10 Best TV Shows Of 2016 (So Far)

'Oh, there's no point to the show. Prequels are never good. Saul was a fun character, but who cares about his origin? It's never going to top Breaking Bad, so why bother? Ugh, this series is so slow; nothing happens!

Better Call Saul has heard all of your complaints, and Better Call Saul does not give a f**k. The first season should have really assuaged any doubts, but Season 2 kills them dead, and moves the conversation from 'what's the point?' to 'could this actually be better than Breaking Bad?'

It's really too early to answer that question, but also it's entirely the wrong question anyway. The series may exist because of that previous series, but really it's the anti-Breaking Bad. The tale of Walter White was driven by plot, an incredibly propulsive narrative full of twists and turns, threats and close-shaves, and an ever-escalating battle for control over the drug empire.

BCS has its plot moments, but it's far less concerned with them being what pushes the show forward. They exist, but this is all about character. It's a comedy, it's a drama, but mostly it's the tragedy of Jimmy McGill, a man who wants to do the right thing, but is too often swayed by the easy path - and even when he's not, he's forcefully kicked down it again and again.

At the centre of this is his relationship with his brother Chuck, their rivalry the show's equivalent of that between rival drug lords. Despite the bitterness, the two obviously care for each other, which is the undoing of Jimmy in the end. The supporting players are equally captivating, with Jimmy's sometime girlfriend Kim, following their relationship while she determinedly pursues success in her law career, and of course Mike. The fixer from Breaking Bad is fleshed out even more here, and his storyline feels particularly connected to the Breaking Bad world, and is every bit as engrossing as Jimmy's.

What really makes all this work is how much time it takes. That very thing that might put people off is the series' true strength. Where nearly every other show would have multiple shots, Better Call Saul has one. In the time almopst any other show would've moved through multiple scenes and progressed the plot, Better Call Saul is still locked on one scene; you're with the characters, studying them, what they say, how they react, and what it all means.

If I was writing this last a few weeks ago, it would've been number 1, and it's still close. But then, well, this happened...