10 Shows We Thought Would Be the Next ‘Breaking Bad’

On January 20, 2008, AMC debuted Vince Gilligan’s Neo-Western crime drama, and little did anyone know, it was history in the making. Breaking Bad took the concept of a heroic protagonist and swapped him out for a newfound antihero like never before. The series took comedic actor Bryan Cranston and had him embody the character of Walter White, an over-qualified, dispirited high-school chemistry teacher struggling with a recent diagnosis of stage-three lung cancer. To keep his family afloat financially before he dies, Walter breaks bad, turning to a life of crime and partnering with a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), to produce and distribute methamphetamine. Chronicling Walter’s moral downfall and rise into a drug kingpin, Breaking Bad cooked up the recipe to become the greatest drama of all time.

As is tradition in the entertainment industry, once someone finds great success, everyone else tries to capitalize on it. During the show’s run as well as after its end, many shows attempted to be the next Breaking Bad, but did anyone succeed? We’re going to discuss 10 TV series that borrowed themes, concepts, and even characters from other series in the hopes of capturing lightning in a bottle again. From hits that forged their own identity to a well-regarded spin-off, these shows will forever be compared to Breaking Bad.

1

‘Animal Kingdom’ (2016–2022)

Being a dysfunctional family has its downsides, but when you’re engaged in a high-operating crime family, dysfunction can be the downfall. Chronicling the Cody family, Animal Kingdom is a gritty crime drama following 17-year-old Joshua “J” Cody (Finn Cole), who moves in with his estranged, criminal relatives in Southern California after his mother’s overdose. Led by the ruthless matriarch, Janine “Smurf” Cody (Ellen Barkin), the family runs a dangerous, high-stakes criminal enterprise, forcing J to adopt their life of theft and violence to survive. As J must decide whether to join the family business, he witnesses Smurf’s manipulation of her own kin — adopted son and leader of the family, Baz (Scott Speedman), mentally unstable Pope (Shawn Hatosy), unpredictable Craig (Ben Robson), and volatile Deran (Jake Weary). Based on a 2010 Australian film inspired by the real-life Pettingill family gangland crimes in Melbourne during the 1980s and ’90s, the TNT series’ six-season run was a dark thriller that explored loyalty, power, and survival within a family and the broader community.

A strong contender as a successor to Breaking Bad, Animal Kingdom’s depiction of moral decay and gritty atmosphere mirrored Gilligan’s masterpiece. Smurf, like Walker, had a similar anti-hero aura as the manipulative head of the family. The only difference was that she was out in the open with her crimes, while Walter kept his under wraps as long as he could. Meanwhile, it’s J who’s forced into his own breaking bad moment as he transforms from an outsider into a ruthless, calculating leader. From Barkin to Cole, Animal Kingdom was filled with dominating performances. Why didn’t Animal Kingdom reach the same height as Breaking Bad? Probably the lack of hype as a TNT original.

2

‘Barry’ (2018–2023)

Many comedians saw the success Cranston achieved and sought out a similar trajectory. Former Saturday Night Live star Bill Hader found his moment on the HBO series Barry. Created by Alec Berg and Hader, the tragicomedy-crime series centers on Barry Berkman, a depressed, low-level hitman who joins an acting class while hunting a target. Eager to leave his past behind, Barry begins to question his path as he navigates new relationships while dealing with his criminal associates and manipulative handler, Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root). Through four seasons, Barry kicked off as a dark comedy before shifting gears, evolving into a psychological tragedy.

Eventually, Barry’s hard U-turn, becoming the anti-Breaking Bad. The titular character had a reverse breaking bad. In a way, Barry’s eagerness to lead an anti-anti-hero lifestyle created a “breaking good” trajectory. Regardless, the show’s tone matched that of Breaking Bad and the mission of damage control. If there’s one thing Barry boasted, it was its brilliant supporting ensemble. From Henry Winkler as the egotistical acting coach Gene Cousineau to Anthony Carrigan as the polite Chechen mobster NoHo Hank, the roster of characters shaped the show’s universe. A critical success, Barry matched the high-stakes drama and focuses on criminal life with a slightly dark comedic approach. Though Hader has admitted Gilligan’s series inspired him, at the end of the day, they both lived in their own identities.

3

‘Better Call Saul’ (2015–2022)

Perhaps this one is a bit obvious, as it’s literally a spin-off of Breaking Bad, but nevertheless, Better Call Saul hoped to ride the success of its predecessor to showcase another iconic character’s breaking bad moment. Serving as a prequel series set during and after the events of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul is the origin story of Saul Goodman, originally known as Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk). The series chronicles the moral decline of the small-time attorney as he transforms into the corrupt criminal defense lawyer introduced in the original series. Set in Albuquerque, Better Call Saul explores Jimmy’s struggles, his relationship with Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), and the parallel rise of Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) in the criminal underworld.

A wonderfully complex character exploration, the series captured the same tone of a story about a man trying to do good, only to turn bad. Jimmy’s moral decline, knowing his ultimate outcome, is an addictive watch because Odenkirk’s nuanced exploration of the character makes you think something will move the goalposts. The tragic transformation becomes a stronger focus compared to the high-stakes criminal enterprise around him. Unlike Walter, Jimmy is presented as a calculated individual who rationalizes his conman persona. With a more heartbreaking narrative, Better Call Saul elicits greater empathy for Jimmy and other characters, especially Kim. Poor, poor Kim. Better Call Saul refined the gruffness of the original series while finding its own identity. Though some may call them equals, it’s hard to forget your first.

4

‘Bloodline’ (2015–2017)

As the world of streaming took off, Netflix began to swing for the fences with risky concepts. One such risk was the psychological thriller Bloodline. Created by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler, and Daniel Zelman, the three-season series followed the Rayburns, a respected Florida Keys family whose dark past and hidden secrets resurface when the family’s black sheep, Danny (Ben Mendelsohn), returns home. The Rayburn siblings, John (Kyle Chandler), Meg (Linda Cardellini), and Kevin (Norbert Leo Butz), and their parents, Sally and Robert (Sissy Spacek and Sam Shepard), are forced into desperate acts to protect their reputation, leading to escalating guilt and murder. With themes of family dysfunction, trauma, and betrayal, Bloodline is a tense character-centric drama that watches the breakdown of family loyalty in real time.

Like Breaking Bad, Bloodline centers on good people who are forced to consider doing very bad things. On the surface, the Rayburns appear seemingly normal, but the deeper the story goes, the further the moral ambiguity reaches. Even with a beautifully sunny backdrop of the Florida Keys, the atmosphere is anything but light. The dark cloud over the family becomes a magnetic pull into crime. Bloodline is unafraid to push John toward increasingly dark, unethical, and violent decisions in hopes of protecting the Rayburn family. Bloodline brilliantly captures lingering family trauma and how it can remain forever. When individuals are willing to go to great lengths to keep secrets buried, it exposes some dark traits. That’s why Bloodline became a psychological thriller over a melodramatic family soap. Not just because there was a ghost-like presence that carried through the final two seasons, Bloodline was a hauntingly gripping series. In the end, it’s guilt that gets you.

5

‘Claws’ (2017–2022)

Just because Dean Norris, best known for his role as Hank Schrader, joined the cast isn’t the sole reason why Claws tried to be the next Breaking Bad. But it certainly checks a box! Created by Eliot Laurence for TNT, Claws follows five diverse manicurists — Desna Simms (Niecy Nash), Polly Marks (Carrie Preston), Annalise “Quiet Ann” Zayas (Judy Reyes), Virginia Loc (Karrueche Tran), and Jennifer Husser (Jenn Lyon) — at the Nail Artisans salon in Manatee County, Florida who turn to money laundering for the Dixie Mafia to escape poverty. As Desna and the women engage in a treacherous rise in the crime world, they must manage the salon, deal with toxic men, and navigate chaotic situations to keep themselves alive. A gritty dark comedy set against the bright backdrop of Florida, Claws brings glamour to high-stakes crime.

Claws takes the concept of individuals leading mundane lives and forces them into a dark world for self-preservation. They are ordinary people who are in over their heads, and that’s where the comedy ensues. Yet, the deeper they go and the more success they have climbing the crime ladder, the more their breaking-bad moment no longer seems an act of desperation but a desire for control. Unlike Albuquerque, South Florida serves as a campy backdrop that lightens the darker themes. Now, back to Norris. He takes on the role of a villain as Clay “Uncle Daddy” Husser, the ruthless head of the Husser crime family. He goes down a similar road to protect his family, going to great lengths to rebuild the Husser name by any means. A colorful crime drama with a female-centric ensemble, Claws is an underappreciated series that is fun to watch back today.

6

‘Fargo’ (2014–2024)

The timeline of events puts Ethan and Joel Coen’s masterful movie, Fargo, way before the debut of Gilligan’s Breaking Bad, but the television anthology series came after Breaking Bad’s run. Now that that’s out of the way, it’s time to discuss the brilliant Fargo. Using the world and themes found in the 1996 film as a jumping-off point, the Noah Hawley-created series brings five unique stories to life, chronicling bizarre, violent murders and criminal schemes in the American Midwest. Each installment follows a new case in which ordinary people fall into crime, greed, and deception as they’re tailed by polite yet efficient local police while being hunted by the ruthless mafia dominating the Midwest. With a central thematic exploration of the contrast between good and evil, Fargo unites dark humor, irony, and philosophical undertones through moments of intense violence.

Despite each season being self-contained, Fargo maintains a sense of universality across its stories, linking minor moments into the broader picture. Even with miscommunications, crossed paths, and unexpected hijinks that add to the drops of humor, Fargo’s action is dark. Again, it’s ordinary individuals doing what it takes to make it out alive. Like Breaking Bad, Hawley’s prestigious storytelling allows Fargo to stand out. By presenting multiple angles of moral dilemmas, Fargo allows those dire consequences to simmer.

Fargo was celebrated for its revolving door of sensational stars. Some of the characters who found themselves in Walter White-like situations included Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman), a henpecked life insurance salesman who meets hitman Loren Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton); Peggy and Ed Blumquist (Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons), who try to cover up the murder of a local crime family scion; brothers Emmit and Ray Stussy (both played by Ewan McGregor), whose sibling rivalry spirals into a spree of murder; Oraetta Mayflower (Jessie Buckley), a deceptively cheerful nurse turned angel of mercy; and Dot Lyon (Juno Temple), a seemingly ordinary Midwest housewife whose mysterious past comes back to haunt her. And yes, casting connections are present: Odenkirk plays the naive police chief, Bill Oswalt, in Season 1, with Plemons in a leading role in Season 2. With extraordinary cinematic quality, Fargo is one of the best series of the 21st century.

7

‘Good Girls’ (2018–2021)

Good Girls doesn’t get compared to Breaking Bad simply because of its similar titular alliteration — it is also the premise of an unexpected trio finding themselves in a dark, life-changing situation. Created by Jenna Bans, Good Girls follows three suburban Michigan mothers — Beth Boland (Christina Hendricks), Ruby Hill (Retta), and Annie Marks (Mae Whitman) — who, facing desperate financial straights, rob a local grocery store, only to become entangled in a high-stakes world of crime, money laundering, and a dangerous gang leader, Rio (Manny Montana), all while trying to maintain a semblance of their ordinary lives. Though they each have a secret and personal battle they’re attempting to overcome, Good Girls is all about the highs of the heist.

Good Girls brings the suburban lifestyle that Breaking Bad explored and further develops the narrative of what’s happening beneath the surface. Beth, Ruby, and Annie are unlikely individuals to be caught up in these antics, yet desperate times call for desperate measures. Good Girls showcases the slippery slope of how one crime necessitates another, as well as how the thrill of the crime keeps the rush going. Perhaps being a network series, Good Girls was restrained. Had it run on a streamer, Good Girls could have gone deeper into the darkness.

8

‘Griselda’ (2024)

A far cry from her run on Modern Family, Sofía Vergara goes to the dark side to play Griselda Blanco, a prominent Colombian drug lord in the cocaine-based drug trade and underworld of Miami, Florida. Known as the “Godmother of Cocaine,” Griselda is a based-on-a-true-story that depicts her pursuit of power, the paranoia and betrayal resulting from her actions, and the ultimate personal cost of her crimes. Told through six episodes on Netflix, the miniseries leaves no stone unturned, tackling Griselda’s rise, fall, and tragic consequences. Griselda serves as a cautionary tale about the destructive nature of power.

Created by the team behind Narcos, Griselda mirrored the gritty, operatic, and morally ambiguous storytelling that made Breaking Bad a groundbreaking and defining crime drama. Unlike Walter, Griselda is depicted as ruthless from the start. Yet, she was a queenpin anti-heroine whose drastic transformation from vulnerable, desperate mother to drug lord is driven by ego and absolute corruption. Vergara presents a riveting performance as the titular character. Having been a comedic mainstay in pop culture thanks to her time on Modern Family, she tapped into the dark side, exposing a mix of terror and cold-hearted ambition within the vulnerability. Being a miniseries, the pacing was much faster, but it follows the same formula as a prestigious crime drama.

9

‘Ozark’ (2017–2022)

The original draw to Breaking Bad was its premise and the actor who would be in the central role. Cranston, a revered comic actor, taking on a dark character in a twisted situation, was appealing. So Netflix attempted to use the same formula with Ozark. Here, it was the revered comic actor Jason Bateman playing a family man caught up in a money-laundering scheme. Nearly reaching the peak of Breaking Bad, the Bill Dubuque-Mark Williams-created series’ success rested on its ability to subvert expectations through a gripping story with masterful character development. The series follows Marty Byrde (Bateman), a financial advisor, who moves his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks to launder $500 million for a drug cartel, navigating dangerous local criminals. Highlighting a dark road to survival amid class disparities in the treacherous underbelly of the suburban dream, Ozark pushes the gritty crime drama to a new frontier.

Ozark was an unrelenting thriller that reminded audiences that the premise of an ordinary, suburban family man forced into the violent underworld of crime is an easy sell. Like Walter, Marty is a highly intelligent person who can navigate consequences with the greatest of ease. The complexity of the characters leads to a high-stakes thriller where you can’t help but wonder what nefarious action will arrive around the next corner. There are similarities between the characters on both shows. Though Skyler White (Anna Gunn) spends much of her time in ignorant bliss, Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) is more active in the crime, becoming a co-conspirator rather than just an accomplice. And then there is the engaging dynamic between boss and mentee. Ruth Langmore (Julia Garner) is a sensational character who, like Jesse Pinkman, has potential for a better life if the circumstances were different. Ozark grew into itself over time, though the comparisons were always there. Ozark’s ending will forever be the antithesis of Breaking Bad, and that’s a good thing.

10

‘Sneaky Pete’ (2015–2019)

Unlike many of the shows on this list, Sneaky Pete was unafraid to live up to the comparisons to Breaking Bad. In fact, when you literally cast Bryan Cranston, who also served as the show’s co-creator, as a vicious gangster, you almost wonder if there could have been a shared universe. But, alas, Sneaky Pete lives on its own. One of the first Prime Video originals, the three-season series puts a conman on the run from the vicious gangsters he once robbed. Marius Josipovic (Giovanni Ribisi) has nowhere to turn, so he assumes the identity of his cellmate, Pete, and takes his life as he “reunites” with Pete’s family, who have no reason not to believe he’s not actually Pete. Hiding in plain sight, Marius joins the unsuspecting suburban family’s bail bond business while managing his old criminal ties and utilizing his con-artist skills to solve problems.

A brilliant mix of family drama and crime thriller, with a focus on the fallout of deception, Sneaky Pete is deep, dark, and gritty in all the right ways. Similar to Cranston’s show, Sneaky Pete features a protagonist living a dangerous double life, causing a complicated intersection between criminal and normal existence. That’s where the dark comedy comes in. With Ribisi mastering the balance of real Marius and fake Pete, he soars as the series lead. The only let-down that Sneaky Pete fell victim to was debuting on a still-fledgling streaming service that was in constant battle with Netflix. Sneaky Pete will forever be an underrated series that was lost in the shadows.