Breaking Bad is an American neo-Western crime media franchise created by Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the two television series, Breaking Bad (2008–2013) and Better Call Saul (2015–2022), and the film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019). The fictional universe is sometimes informally referred to as the "Gilliverse".
Breaking Bad revolves around chemistry teacher-turned-methamphetamine drug lord Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and his former student and fellow crook Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). Better Call Saul, the prequel/sequel series, follows the origins and eventual fate of criminal lawyer Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), whom Walter and Jesse eventually hire in Breaking Bad, as well as police officer-turned-criminal and cleaner Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), who becomes associated with all three men over the course of both series. El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, the sequel film, concludes the story of Jesse, now a fugitive, after the events of Breaking Bad. Gilligan said he felt the three works can be seen independently from one another, but exist in the same framework and need to be viewed together to receive the full cumulative experience.
The two television series and the film are set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and give a modernized twist to Westerns set in the region. Each of the three entries were produced at Albuquerque Studios and emboldened success for the media in the city and film in the state. Both series originally aired on AMC, while the film premiered on Netflix, on which the two television series aired internationally (outside of United States). The franchise is owned by Sony Pictures Television and received strong critical acclaim; numerous awards were given to Breaking Bad, to Better Call Saul, and to El Camino.
The Breaking Bad franchise has since expanded across several different mediums and multimedia platforms, with varying degrees of contributions from its cast and crew. This includes the talk shows Talking Bad (2013) and Talking Saul (2016–2022), the Spanish-language adaptation Metástasis (2014), the parody musical Faking Bad (2018), and the animated short-form series Slippin' Jimmy (2022).
Television series
Breaking Bad (2008–2013)
Breaking Bad tells the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited high-school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After being diagnosed with stage-three lung cancer, he enlists the help of his former chemistry student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), to produce and distribute crystal meth to secure his family's financial future. He tries to leave the drug-making business, but continues to be drawn into the criminal underworld, and soon becomes a major drug kingpin under the name "Heisenberg" which he conceals from his family and friends.
Among the show's co-stars are Anna Gunn and RJ Mitte as Walter's wife Skyler and son Walter Jr., and Betsy Brandt and Dean Norris as Skyler's sister Marie Schrader and her husband Hank, a DEA agent. Others include Bob Odenkirk as Walter's and Jesse's lawyer Saul Goodman, Jonathan Banks as private investigator and fixer Mike Ehrmantraut, and Giancarlo Esposito as drug kingpin Gus Fring. The final season introduces Jesse Plemons as the criminally ambitious Todd Alquist, and Laura Fraser as Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, a cunning business executive secretly managing Walter's global meth sales for her company.
Breaking Bad was created by Vince Gilligan, who had spent several years writing the Fox series The X-Files. Gilligan wanted to create a series in which the protagonist became the antagonist. He added that his goal with Walter White was to turn him from Mr. Chips into Scarface.
The show aired on AMC from January 20, 2008, to September 29, 2013, consisting of five seasons for a total of 62 episodes. Breaking Bad received widespread acclaim and has been praised by many critics as one of the greatest television shows of all time.Sources that refer to Breaking Bad being praised as one of the greatest television shows of all time include:
The series would receive a total of sixteen Emmy Awards throughout its run.
Better Call Saul (2015–2022)
Better Call Saul focuses on Saul Goodman's life, six years before he became Walter's lawyer, as Jimmy McGill, a more earnest lawyer trying to turn away from his troublesome conman days. Throughout the series, Jimmy gradually transforms into Saul Goodman, a morally compromised and flamboyant criminal defense lawyer who assists criminals in their misdeeds. The show also features segments and eventually full episodes centering on Goodman's fate after the events of Breaking Bad.
Bob Odenkirk would reprise the titular role for the spin-off. Additionally, Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito star and reprise their roles as Mike Ehrmantraut and Gus Fring, respectively, while several other Breaking Bad cast members have guest-starred on the show. Newcomers to the starring cast of Better Call Saul include Rhea Seehorn as Jimmy's love interest and fellow attorney Kim Wexler, Michael McKean as Jimmy's older brother Chuck McGill, Patrick Fabian as Jimmy's rival attorney Howard Hamlin, Michael Mando as the cunning criminal Nacho Varga, and Tony Dalton as Lalo Salamanca, the charismatic enforcer who later helps run his family's drug business.
Saul Goodman was originally to appear in Breaking Bad in four episodes within the show's second season, but became a main character through the rest of the show's run in part due to being a fan favorite and the strength of his acting abilities. Odenkirk, Vince Gilligan, and Peter Gould, who wrote the episode that introduced Goodman, started discussions near the end of Breaking Bad of a possible spin-off expanding on the character. They eventually settled on the idea of a prequel to show the origins of Saul about six years prior to the events of Breaking Bad. In April 2013, AMC and Sony Pictures Television expressed interest in Gilligan and Gould's spin-off series concept, and they officially ordered Better Call Saul on September 11, 2013.
The show aired on AMC from February 8, 2015, to August 15, 2022, consisting of six seasons for a total of 63 episodes. Better Call Saul has received similar critical praise as Breaking Bad, with some even deeming it superior to its predecessor.Sources that consider Better Call Saul superior to Breaking Bad include:
It is considered as a prime example of how to produce a spinoff work that defies the usual expectations of such forms.
Film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie follows the events of Breaking Bads series finale "Felina", as Jesse Pinkman tries to outrun his misdeeds and searches for his freedom to Alaska. Aaron Paul reprised the role of Jesse after a six-year absence, and several other Breaking Bad characters made appearances.
Vince Gilligan wrote, directed and produced the film. While writing "Felina", Gilligan asked himself what happened to Jesse after the events of the series. Near the tenth anniversary of Breaking Bads premiere, Gilligan started sharing the idea of creating a sequel film based on this concept. Paul, who portrayed Jesse on the series and who still felt attached to the character, expressed eagerness to be involved with any idea for a Breaking Bad continuation. When Gilligan made his initial film pitch to Sony Pictures Television, the executives in the room quickly agreed to come on board. After completing the script, Gilligan shopped the film to a few potential distributors, settling on Netflix and AMC due to their history with the show.
The sequel film was formally announced in February 2019. It was released exclusively on Netflix on October 11, 2019, also received a limited theatrical release in the United States from October 11 to 13, 2019. It was later broadcast on AMC on February 16, 2020. Critics praised Gilligan's direction and Paul's performance, but gave a mixed consensus regarding the film's necessity to Breaking Bads chronology.
Web series Breaking Bad: Original Minisodes (2009–2011)
Breaking Bad: Original Minisodes is a web series based on the television series Breaking Bad. A total of 17 "minisodes", which are more comedy-oriented than most full episodes, were released over the course of three years.
Better Call Saul Employee Training (2017–2022)
From 2017 to 2022, AMC released four separate short series that feature a mix of live action and animated segments in conjunction with the last four seasons of Better Call Saul. Season three featured Los Pollos Hermanos Employee Training with Esposito portraying Gus Fring, season four featured Madrigal Electromotive Security Training with Mike Ehrmantraut with Banks as Mike, season five featured Ethics Training with Kim Wexler with Seehorn as Kim and side-voiceovers from Odenkirk as Jimmy and Patrick Fabian as Howard, and season six featured Filmmaker Training with the film crew that helped Jimmy make his advertisements. These were released over the course of each season on YouTube and through AMC's social media. The first three series consisted of ten episodes, while the last consisted of six.
Both Los Pollos Hermanos Employee Training and Ethics Training with Kim Wexler received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series. Madrigal Electromotive Security Training with Mike Ehrmantraut was initially nominated for the same award, while Jonathan Banks was initially nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series, but the academy had to pull the nominations after discovering the episodes were shorter than the category's required runtime. Filmmaker Training would also be nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series.
Slippin' Jimmy (2022)
Variety reported in March 2021 that AMC was developing a spin-off animated series, Slippin' Jimmy. The series, a prequel based on younger Jimmy and Chuck's time in Cicero, Illinois, was developed by Ariel Levine and Kathleen Williams-Foshee, who previously worked on the associated live-action Better Call Saul Employee Training (2017–2022). Voice actors include Chi McBride, Laraine Newman, and Sean Giambrone as Jimmy.
Slippin' Jimmy was later revealed as a short-form web series; a six-part animated series to be released online during the sixth season of Better Call Saul. Told in the style of classic 1970s-era cartoons, each episode is an ode to a specific movie genre — from Spaghetti Westerns and Buster Keaton to The Exorcist. The series was produced by Rick and Morty animators Starburns and written by Levine and Williams-Foshee. Six episodes, each around 8–9 minutes in length, were released on AMC+ on May 23, 2022.
Saul4Democracy (2026) On June 14, 2026, a short video titled "Know Your Rights" was released on a YouTube channel called Saul4Democracy. The video featured Odenkirk, in character as Saul Goodman, giving a public service announcement to the audience informing them of their rights. The video ended with Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut voicing his approval of the message. It was the first time Odenkirk and Banks reprised these roles since Better Call Saul ended in 2022. Better Call Saul showrunner Peter Gould confirmed the video's legitimacy on Bluesky, adding that it was not generated by artificial intelligence.
Four total short videos would be released on the Saul4Democracy channel. Odenkirk was primarily featured in a majority of them, though Banks would be the only subject in the last. Following the fourth video, Gould stated on Bluesky that there would be no more future installments.
Short films Chicks 'N' Guns (2013)