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Over 15 years ago, AMC’s Breaking Bad made headlines as one of the most critically and commercially successful TV shows ever made. Since its conclusion in 2013, Breaking Bad‘s five action-packed seasons have been lauded by critics for its writing, cinematography, directing, and stand-out performances from Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. The crime-drama series even made its way into the Guinness Book of World Records as the most critically acclaimed show of all time. There are many shows like Breaking Bad, but none quite as impactful.
As the years have rolled by, many TV shows have tried and failed to reach the same untouchable status as Breaking Bad, which has garnered a cult following since its end. But that was almost 20 years ago and the quality of TV shows has improved drastically since then, which means there are ample contenders to overtake the Breaking Bad hype.
The Last of Us
HBO’s The Last of Us is currently awaiting its second season, which will draw inspiration from Naughty Dog’s sequel game, The Last of Us: Part II and continue Ellie Williams’ story. The drama series stars Bella Ramsey as Ellie, a loud-mouthed teenager who comes under the care of Joel Miller, a rugged smuggler. Together, they must traverse the United States in the middle of a serious pandemic. Several critics called The Last of Us “the best adaptation of a video game” and after taking home eight Primetime Emmy Awards, that became a hard fact to dispute.
After premiering in January 2023, The Last of Us quickly earned the second-largest viewership for a pilot episode since 2010’s The Walking Dead. The undeniable success of Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin’s adaptation convinced countless viewers that a new era was upon us, one that would break the dreaded video game curse.
The Bear
Christopher Storer’s comedy-drama The Bear is an FX original starring Jeremy Allen White as Carmy, an award-winning chef who returns to his hometown to revitalize his deceased brother’s failing sandwich shop. The show’s first season received 10 Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as four Golden Globe awards. At the time of its release, The Bear was the second-most-watched program across all entertainment platforms. The series repeated this impressive feat for the second season.
The Bear shares numerous themes and undertones with Breaking Bad especially, namely the crippling debt with which Carmy is faced as it mimics the financial strain on the White family when Walter is diagnosed with cancer. Similarly, Carmy must manage an unruly kitchen and constantly develop new ways for The Beef to stay relevant, whereas Walter consistently practices making meth to perfect his ‘true blue’ formula.
Reacher
While Reacher is a little more action-heavy than Breaking Bad, both shows emulate the dangers of crossing powerful gang leaders and meddling within the criminal underbelly. Walter finds himself cornered by Mexican drug dealers, cartel members, and even fellow distributors in Gus Fring. As for Jack Reacher, the former U.S. Army military man must team up with Georgian policemen to investigate a local conspiracy in Margrave. In the second season, after word gets out of Jack’s influence in Georgia, he is contacted to assist a former member of his defunct MP unit.
Reacher is based on the book series by Lee Child, thus far adapting The Killing Floor and Bad Luck and Trouble in its first two seasons. The upcoming third season will focus on the 2003 novel Persuader. The Amazon Prime Video exclusive remains steadfastly faithful to the source material and produces a hair-raising crime-thriller from start to finish.
Stranger Things
Stranger Things needs no introduction as one of Netflix’s most-watched series of all time. The series follow a group of young kids living in the quaint town of Hawkins, who come to realize they share vicinity with a hostile dimension known as the Upside Down. They come to encounter a creature known as the Demogorgon and must fight for their lives against extraterrestrial beings It may not share a likeness with Breaking Bad, but the two powerhouse shows respectively dominate their end of the entertainment spectrum.
As Stranger Things awaits its fifth and final season, there’s no doubt that for many years to come, it will go down in history as one of the greatest pieces of modern cinema to ever grace our screens. By the third season, Stranger Things had broken Netflix viewership records. In fact, Stranger Things is second only to Squid Game, the Korean drama that became the most-watched series across 94 countries.
True Detective
The fourth season of True Detective, dubbed Night Country, recently premiered on HBO. The series as a whole follows numerous pairs of police detectives as they investigate crimes across the U.S. The latest season stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as they explore Alaska in search of eight missing men from a research station. All four seasons, since the earlier days of Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, have received critical acclaim.
As it stands apart from the crowd as an anthology crime drama, True Detective is undoubtedly one of a kind. Not only that, but the series emanates star power with commendable performances across the board by Harrelson, McConaughey, Colin Farrell, Rachel McAdams, Mahershala Ali, Foster, and Reis. Likewise, Breaking Bad excels with a formidable cast of characters, a selling point that has contributed to its continued popularity.
