Charles Lindbergh "Chuck" McGill Jr. is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists in the crime drama television series Better Call Saul, a spin-off prequel to Breaking Bad.

Chuck was born in Cicero, Illinois, United States and is the elder son of Ruth and Charles McGill Sr.

Michael McKean had previously worked with Vince Gilligan as the recurring character Morris Fletcher who first appeared in The X-Files episode "Dreamland."

[5] Gilligan said that Chuck was originally planned as a Mycroft Holmes character, emotionally damaged but supportive of Jimmy's efforts, with Howard Hamlin to serve as the antagonist.

However, as they filmed the initial episodes and saw the interactions, the writing team came to the idea of making Chuck the antagonist, while Howard would be more supportive of Jimmy, belying his outward rigor.

[8] Early in his career, Chuck excelled in criminal law, famously arguing and winning the precedent-setting case State v.

[10] To that end, he secretly completed his college degree, attended a correspondence law school, and passed the bar exam.

[11] He also became friendly, then romantically involved, with Kim Wexler, a law student who also worked in the mailroom and later became an associate attorney at HHM.

[11] Around the time of his divorce from Rebecca Bois, Chuck began to think he suffered from electromagnetic hypersensitivity and took a leave of absence from HHM.

Howard agrees to take the case and offers Jimmy a small of counsel fee and a percentage of the judgment or settlement but cuts him out of active participation.

Kim, who knew of Jimmy's ad but did not inform the partners at HHM, is reassigned to entry-level document review work.

Chuck's electromagnetic hypersensitivity symptoms reappear as the result of his trip to HHM's offices to meet with Mesa Verde's president and counsel.

The suggestion that his illness is mental unnerves Chuck, who launches an extended tirade about Jimmy; he realizes too late that his outburst has shocked the entire courtroom into silence.

The possibility that his illness is psychosomatic leads Chuck to begin seeing Dr. Cruz, a therapist who helps him cope with his symptoms to the point where he can walk outside and perform chores such as grocery shopping.

When Jimmy meets with his malpractice insurer to obtain a refund on his premium, he finds that his policy must remain in effect during his suspension.

The insurers inform them that HHM's malpractice rates will rise substantially unless another attorney is assigned to constantly supervise Chuck.

To his surprise, Howard buys out Chuck's share of the partnership, using personal funds and loans to make the first of three $3 million payments.

Having reached his breaking point, Chuck sits at his desk and kicks it until he knocks over a gas lantern, setting his house on fire.

Jimmy learns HHM is struggling financially because of the payments due to Chuck's estate, and because recent events caused them to lose clients.

A year later, Jimmy attends his reinstatement hearing and is surprised to learn that his suspension will continue because he failed to address the conflict with Chuck during questioning from the panel members.

Jimmy appeals, and in preparation for the hearing Kim helps him fake several public displays of grief over Chuck's death.

At the appeal, Jimmy begins to read from Chuck's letter, then stops and gives an impromptu speech in which he vows to be worthy of the McGill name if reinstated.

Jimmy's appeal succeeds, but he reveals to Kim that the speech was insincere and he plans to practice law as Saul Goodman.

Jimmy has fully embraced the Saul Goodman alias he used while selling prepaid phones, telling Kim that it gives him an instant client base for a criminal law practice.

Jimmy is so unnerved that he irritates Howard by using bowling balls to vandalize his car and prostitutes to disrupt his business lunch with Clifford Main.

[17] When Howard sees Kim at the courthouse, she tells him she quit Schweikart and Cokely and her work for Mesa Verde so that she can concentrate on pro bono criminal defense cases.

[19] In the series finale, Chuck appears in a flashback set before the events of Better Call Saul began, with Jimmy helping him manage his EHS symptoms by bringing him food deliveries.

The site consensus reads: "The war between Jimmy and Chuck comes to an unprecedented climax in the heartbreaking, sober, and defining 'Chicanery', an episode that clearly cements Better Call Saul as essential television.

"[25] Many critics were disappointed when McKean, who was said to have given "one of the best performances by anyone in TV all year", failed to secure an Emmy nomination in 2017 while his co-star Jonathan Banks did.

[26][27] Matt Zoller Seitz of Vulture considers him to be the Better Call Saul equivalent of Breaking Bad character Skyler White.