Better Call Saul is throwing you a casting curveball.
No, not Carol Burnett, but that one should be fun. The role of Jeff is being recast for the final stretch of episodes, EW has confirmed. You first met the forceful cab driver played by Don Harvey in a season 4 flashforward with Gene (Bob Odenkirk), as Jeff seemed to recognize Saul Goodman in hiding. In season 5, Jeff confronted Gene in the mall, insisting that Gene utter Saul’s catchphrase, “Better Call Saul,” which sent Gene into a panic that he had been recognized.
A recently released teaser for the final season of AMC’s Breaking Bad prequel focuses on Jeff, but he’s being played by a different actor. The scene — which takes place during the day instead of night, like the original ride that Gene took with him — returns you to Jeff’s cab, but it uses the dialogue from the season 5 scene, as voiced by the new actor. And it got fans speculating.
Harvey — whose credits include Eight Men Out, The Thin Red Line, and more recently The Deuce and Pam & Tommy — has a significant role on HBO’s new David Simon drama We Own This City. He was apparently unable to return to Saul because of his contractual obligation to that show, which was first reported by the Saul Instagram fan account All About Saul.
Saul returns with the first of its six final episodes on July 11.
AMC (3) ‘Better Call Saul’ is recasting Jeff for the final season
On Thursday, AMC also released a new teaser for the final run of episodes, which revisited iconic places from the show (in black and white) while giving viewers their first sighting of Saul in his mansion.
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