Here’s What Was Cut from the ‘Better Call Saul’ Finale — and What Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn Think a Reboot Might Look Like

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Jo Koy is extending his relationship with Netflix, signing a deal to bring his next two stand-up comedy specials to the streamer. The specials will mark Koy’s fifth and sixth with Netflix; first up, the next one will tape at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn on November 10 and 11, with an expected 2024 premiere. Art & Industry is producing that special.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Making “Daisy Jones & the Six” was more than just another show for Scott Neustadter and Lauren Neustadter: It was a family affair. Scott and his writing partner, Michael Weber (both Oscar nominated via their screenplay for the film “The Disaster Artist”), received an early copy of the “Daisy Jones” manuscript, written by author Taylor Jenkins Reid, before it even found a publisher. Neustadter, a music junkie, immediately fell in love with the script, and knew the perfect home for it: Reese Witherspoon’s company Hello Sunshine — where his wife, Lauren, had just joined as president of film and television.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Perhaps it’s coincidence, or serendipity, but two of the best-reviewed shows on television happened to both return at the same time with new seasons last week — and both put Native storytelling and Indigenous characters front and center. FX’s “Reservation Dogs” and AMC’s “Dark Winds” have a few things in common — starting, of course, with Zahn McClarnon, who stars as Navajo tribal police officer Joe Leaphorn in “Dark Winds” and recurs as Officer Big in “Reservation Dogs.” And both also share acclaim from viewers and critics: “Reservation Dogs” sports a 99% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes’ reviews aggregator, while “Dark Winds” boasts a remarkable 100% ranking.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large In a previous column I made a strong case for moving the ceremony to November, when at least the Emmys wouldn’t feel too stale or crash into Oscars season. But since Fox is moving forward with January, the silver lining is that there’s a lot more time — five months, as a matter of fact — for producer Jesse Collins Entertainment, along with Fox and the TV Academy, to figure out how to make this major Emmy anniversary a show to remember. Much of that will come down to who hosts the telecast.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Keeping that in mind, there I was once again backstage last year in the press room when I realized that no one else was going to ask a similar question to the “Ted Lasso” cast and producers. Having won back-to-back Emmys for outstanding comedy, “Ted Lasso” was on a roll. And yet, there were already signals that “Ted Lasso” might wrap after a third and final season.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The Emmys officially have a new date: Fox and the Television Academy were set to announce this morning that the 75th Emmy Awards will shift to Monday, January 15, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large In what may be one of the most powerful and stirring episodes of the entire run of FX’s “Reservation Dogs,” the series this week took on the horror of assimilation “Indian boarding schools” — and attempt by the government in the 19th and 20th centuries to erase Native culture from the country. It’s another dark chapter that is well known by most people with Indigenous heritage, but something that most non-Natives have either never heard about, or only have a passing knowledge of it. For “Reservation Dogs” co-creator Sterlin Harjo, there was a responsibility to tell the story right.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “The Conners” is making its way to off-net syndication, as Tom Werner’s Werner Entertainment has stuck a deal with both Lionsgate Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury to distribute the sitcom’s first five seasons (and future seasons as well). “The Conners” will be sold for a fall 2024 launch in domestic syndication.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large HBO’s “Succession” was a critical darling, so it’s probably befitting that the show would end its run with two final lauds from the Television Critics Assn. The 39th Annual TCA Awards — which canceled its in-person event this year due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes — released its list of winners on Monday, with “Succession” grabbing the prizes for program of the year, as well as outstanding achievement in drama (an award it also won in 2022 and 2020). Other major winners included FX’s “The Bear,” which airs on Hulu.

Stars of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul have remembered their “dear friend and dynamic human” Mark Margolis following his death at the age of 83. Bryan Cranston, Bob Odenkirk, Giancarlo Esposito and Dean Norris were among those paying tribute to the actor, who played the villainous Hector Salamanca. Margolis first appeared in Breaking Bad as a wheelchair bound Salamanca, communicating menacingly with a bell, before reprising a younger version of the role for the AMC spinoff Better Call Saul.

The bell-ringing, hateful-faced Don Hector Salamanca had no shortage of enemies in Breaking Bad and its prequel Better Call Saul, but cast members and creatives from both series are remembering actor Mark Margolis fondly today. The stage and veteran died Thursday at 83, and tributes are all over social media from the likes of Bryan Cranston, Bob Odenkirk, Peter Gould, Michael Mando and others.

told The Hollywood Reporter.The Post has reached out to Margolis’ reps for comment.Margolis’ acting career began in the 1950s on the soap opera “Guiding Light,” and he went on to star in supporting roles in “Going in Style” (1979) and “Dressed to Kill” (1980).As a character actor playing mobsters and baddies, his biggest early role was in 1983’s “Scarface” as mobster Alberto the Shadow opposite Al Pacino’s Tony Montana.Margolis became a favorite of Darren Aronofsky, who cast him in nearly all of his films including 1998’s “Pi,” 2008’s “The Wrestler” and 2010’s Oscar-winning “Black Swan.”But it was “Breaking Bad” for which Margolis will never be forgotten. As cartel leader Hector “Tio” Salamanca, Margolis rarely spoke a word, since his character had suffered a nearly-fatal stroke that rendered him speechless.Communicating mostly through glares and growls, Margolis’ Hector often rang a piercing bell to spell out words while speaking with friends and foes, including Bryan Cranston’s Walter White and Giancarlo Esposito’s Gus Fring.And as “Breaking Bad” fans know, his final scene in the series was even more explosive than his silent, but threatening, gestures.This is a breaking story.

Ethan Shanfeld Mark Margolis, who portrayed the menacing, bell-ringing Hector Salamanca in “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” died Thursday at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City. He was 83.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large (Above, Karyn Kusama with Courtney Eaton and Samantha Hanratty of “Yellowjackets” at Variety’s TV Fest in June.) Somehow, Season 2 of Showtime’s hit drama “Yellowjackets” managed to keep its sense of humor, even as the series’ story got darker and, yes, it finally went full cannibal. It’s all about balancing the tone, which is something executive producer Karyn Kusama helped set last season as director of the show’s pilot.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Miss Universe” is extending its relationship with The Roku Channel and Telemundo. The Miss Universe Organization, which has been undergoing an overhaul under new owners JKN Global Group PCL, has sealed a multi-year deal with Roku and Telemundo to continue as the U.S. streaming and broadcast homes for the pageant, in both English and Spanish, respectively.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Apparently “The Rumble” is coming to “The Masked Singer” this season. Fox is taking the wraps off of the latest edition of the hit reality competition series, teasing the landmark 10th season with a first promo tonight — as well as a look at the first round of costumes. Variety has an exclusive look, above, of the Donut and the Hawk.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Sterlin Harjo is surprised that you’re surprised “Reservation Dogs” is ending. The critically acclaimed FX series, which returns to Hulu on Wednesday with its third and final season, is a dramatic comedy about a group of Indigenous teens finding their place among family and friends as they grow up in Oklahoma. But the thing about coming-of-age tales, Harjo notes, is that eventually the characters come of age.

Succession actor Sarah Snook has spoken about one scene that was cut from the hit show’s finale. Spoilers below.In season four, episode 10 of the HBO drama, titled ‘With Open Eyes’, the show reaches a dramatic climax when the Roy siblings – Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Shiv – participate in a board vote which will determine the leadership and future of Waystar Royco.Moments before Snook’s character, Shiv, is about to vote for her brother Kendall as the new CEO and her late father’s successor, she gets cold feet and exits the room mid-meeting.An explosive argument with the siblings ensues, during which she tells her brother: “I love you, but I can’t fucking stomach you.” She also tells Kendall that she can’t vote for him because he’s killed someone, referring to the moment in the season one finale when he gets into a car accident with a waiter from Shiv’s wedding.Shiv leaves the confrontation and votes against her brother, which means that Lukas Matsson’s (Alexander Skarsgård) GoJo deal goes ahead and Shiv’s husband Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) becomes the new CEO.In a new interview with Variety, Snook revealed one extra scene was filmed twice that depicted her character returning to the conference room to cast her vote, rather than it lingering on the two brothers after the argument becomes physical.She explained: “The way that [director] Mark Mylod runs the scenes, he will let it run.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large CNN leads this year’s News & Documentary Emmy nominations, with 45 overall — including seven for “Anderson Cooper 360.” Meanwhile, “Vice News Tonight,” which was canceled this spring, landed 28 nominations — helping Vice News score a total of 30, good enough for second place among outlets. Among broadcasters, ABC and PBS were tops at 26 nominations each.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “Entertainment Tonight” is undergoing layoffs with the entertainment news show cutting less than 10% of its staff, Variety has learned. A staff-wide Zoom was held on Wednesday afternoon where employees learned of a “small restructuring of staff,” sources close to the show tell Variety.