What are the best series of the first half of the year? 1:02
(CNN) — Spawning the acclaimed “Better Call Saul,” “Breaking Bad” achieved a kind of immortality in the spinoff arena that “Friends” (“Joey”), “MASH” (“AfterMASH”), and “The Golden Girls” failed to achieve (“The Golden Palace”), among others. As the prequel draws to a close, it’s worth reflecting on how the legacy of the award-winning series spawned one of the best TV offshoots since “Cheers” “Frasier” produced.
“Breaking Bad” debuted in 2008, a year after “Mad Men” established AMC as the home of quality storytelling. Along with FX’s “The Shield” and “Nip/Tuck,” these simple cable networks demonstrated that what passes for premium television can be defined by quality and ambition, not just where it’s broadcast.
The key to Breaking Bad’s staying power can be traced to a variety of ingredients combined in a way seen in Saul’s addictive formula that has proven as difficult to imitate as it is unusual rare methamphetamine Reiner Walter White.
Both series traced the moral descent of their main characters, combining dark comedy, absurd moments and long, slow scenes full of suspense and high-stakes drama.
Perhaps most importantly, “Breaking Bad” – which followed the development of chemistry teacher Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston) from a terminal diagnosis to a criminal mastermind – became one of the most unpredictable events television has produced. Its creator, Vince Gilligan, and his team have consistently encountered seemingly inescapable difficulties only to suggest a plausible, and usually ingenious, way out.
As for Walt’s moral decline, the iconic moment he sat by and watched his partner’s sleeping girlfriend smother Jesse (Aaron Paul) wasn’t exactly committing murder, but didn’t step in to protect himself. This pointed to more casualties, including the shocking sequence in which White plotted the death of drug lord Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito).
Commentators at the time drew parallels between Walt and Tony Soprano, both family men and criminals who embodied the age of the television antihero.
Unlike The Sopranos, however, viewers saw the former gradually turn to the dark side, raising the question of what normal people might do in similar circumstances. As critic Gene Seymour noted just before the finale, “It’s Walter White’s seeming normalcy that makes us question more than he does himself.”
The difficult record of “Better Call Saul”
In a way, Better Call Saul faced an even more delicate balancing act common to prequels: working towards the predecessor’s narrative territory without exhausting that ground too quickly or undermining the popular material that inspired it.
“Saul,” too, has turned out to be “a tragedy,” as Gilligan described in a recent session with journalists after watching the Bob Odenkirk character make the transition from Jimmy McGill to Saul Goodman, with the estrangement of his partner Kim ( Rhea Seehorn). . ), as the mysterious axis that hovers over history to complete this metamorphosis.
Breaking Bad hit the nail on the head with its ending, offering a definitive and satisfying ending after a period marked by cryptic endings that left viewers doubting the writers’ intent on numerous occasions. The series also deviated from television trends by becoming a breakthrough hit, and viewership steadily increased towards the end (with a record 10.3 million viewers for the final episode) as people discovered the production and word spread.
When Breaking Bad wrapped in 2013, Gilligan gave a triumphant round of television interviews, including an appearance with Charlie Rose, who asked him if the producer had accepted that he might never do anything quite as good again.
“It was a coincidence,” Gilligan said.
Against all odds, Gilligan and “Saul” co-creator Peter Gould did it twice. Though they’ve said there are no plans for more adventures in this world — for a spin-off of a spin-off — and Gilligan told Rolling Stone that it’s “time to do something new,” the lasting lesson from both of them could be Serial how hard it is to leave a lucrative company when you are working at full capacity.
The series finale, Better Call Saul, premieres August 15 on AMC.