Carol Burnett’s casting in Better Call Saul was basically a dream come true as such a big fan of the show.
While she’s best known for making people laugh as a comedy icon, Carol Burnett took on a much more dramatic role when she joined Better Call Saul for its sixth and final season. While she doesn’t come into the show until its final four episodes, Burnett played a pivotal role as Marion, the mother of Jeff the cab driver (Don Harvey & Pat Healy). The character plays a big part in the sequence of events leading to the series finale along with the ultimate fate of Saul Goodman.
For her part, Burnett was just happy to be involved with the series in any way. Speaking with Variety, the 90-year-old recalled how she landed the role in the first place, explaining how she happened to become friends with co-creator Vince Gilligan. As someone who loved both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, Burnett let Gilligan know she’d love to have a role on the spinoff, even if it was for a very brief cameo. From there, Gilligan and the Better Call Saul creative team found the perfect way to bring Burnett into the story.
As Burnett explains:
“I was a big fan of Breaking Bad and I knew Vince Gilligan, he’s a buddy and a friend. When they started Better Call Saul, I got hooked on that. We were having dinner one night and he said, ‘you know, maybe I’ll write something for you for Saul.’ I said, I don’t care if it’s one sentence. I’ll be there. Because I just love their writing. I spent two and a half months in New Mexico doing that and it was just a delight.”
Better Call Saul Brought in Carol Burnett for Pivotal Role
Casting Burnett as Marion was clearly the right call, given how much critics and viewers enjoyed her in the role. It’s even possible that Burnett will earn an Emmy nomination for the guest role, as AMC has submitted both Burnett and Rhea Seehorn (Kim Wexler) for Emmy consideration. They’re both potentially up for the Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series award. If either were to win, it could be the first Emmy win for Better Call Saul, which has garnered 46 nominations in the past but has yet to pick up the Emmy gold.
For her status as a comedy icon, Burnett was also recently honored with her own television special for her 90th birthday. It aired in April on NBC and was dubbed Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love. Gilligan was also featured on the program, there in person in honor of his pal Burnett. Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk was also in attendance and told a joke story about Gilligan wanting to have Burnett’s character killed off on the show, but he refused.
“Carol, I was willing to risk my career and never working in this town again,” Odenkirk joked. “Because I didn’t want little children who watched our show — and I hope many of them did — to see me on the street and say, ‘Mommy, that’s the man who killed Carol Burnett.’ That’s all I wanted to say. That I’m your real friend and Vince is not.”
Odenkirk added, “And one more thing, Vince and I, and everybody on our show, we think you’re the greatest.”
