Breaking Bad Remains a Consistent Pop Culture Staple
December 16, 2022
Since its release in 2008, Breaking Bad has grown to be one of the most well- known shows to air on television. Walter White, a chemistry teacher turned drug dealer, and his former student turned partner, Jesse Pinkman, provide a storyline unlike any other. In recent times, the show has experienced a random surge in popularity. The smart, original writing and the beautiful filming techniques combined with the use of social media have spread the timeless tale to a new generation.
The show has always been a hit. According to The Guardian, “Breaking Bad was born in a boomtime for cable TV.” They continued, “When White and Pinkman first appeared in 2008, The Sopranos had just ended, Mad Men had just begun and we were in the throes of what soon became known as the ‘Golden Age of TV.’ Breaking Bad is now rightfully placed at the top of this category, but it would likely never have existed had US cable networks not been seeking to imitate the success that edgy, creative driven dramas had enjoyed on premium channels such as HBO” (theguardian.com).
Thanks to the conditions of their release, the show experienced a boom in popularity from entertainment-deprived television watchers. Their viewership only increased from there. According to Vox, “Usually, audiences for TV shows dwindle over time. With Breaking Bad, the opposite happened: Its season four finale had less than two million viewers; but when the series finale aired two years later, its audience had grown to 10 million people” (vox.com). This is only proof of the show’s quality. Even with an already impressive start, their viewership still increased by five times by its end.
There has been a recent resurgence in viewership, especially amongst high school students. Having never watched the show, teens find themselves entranced by its unpredictability and the compelling character arcs. Junior Mikaila Bulloch started watching the series her freshman year after it was recommended to her by a friend. She has rewatched the series in its entirety three times since. The love for the show isn’t limited to UC High. Junior Jake Hopkins from Helix Charter High said, “I heard tangentially that Breaking Bad was a good show, so when I got Netflix it was the first thing I watched….I would definitely recommend it because of its interesting cinematography and character development.”
Currently on Netflix, the show is accessible to a broad audience and widely publicized with social media. Junior Jacob Sky said, “I’ve heard about the show for a couple years, but never wanted to watch it until I saw people talking about it and showing clips of it on social media platforms. I watching Breaking Bad around this past spring.” He continued, “I think the main reason why it was brought back to popularity is because of people sharing their opinions on the television series online.”
Tiktok seems to be the most prominent social media shining a light on the show, particularly in a humorous way. Sky mainly credited the platform for this social media movement, where he recalled seeing many of the show’s memorable quotes and moments appear in edits, giving users a glimpse of the show’s nature and piquing the interest of possible watchers. Bulloch said, “I think it’s becoming popular again because of memes of the show and the way Tiktok reaches more people than previous social media.” One of the memes she referred to includes a monologue from White from the series’s pilot episode, in which he lists his fictional name and address to a camcorder, pantless in the desert. The jokes spawned from the show initially inspire teens to watch the show, who then find themselves captivated by its depth.
The series has not, and will not, acquire an expiration date. Sky said, “The pacing of the show is near perfect; the characters and their development through the seasons is some of the best I’ve ever seen. The plot is simple yet full of twists… every episode ended in a way that made you want to keep watching.” Bulloch said, “What appeals to me [about Breaking Bad] is that each time I watch it, I feel differently about the characters. The characters develop a lot, so when I return to the beginning of the show it’s interesting to watch that development again.”
This beloved show has beaten the test of time, and will entertain whoever comes across it, regardless of day or age. With the series’s originality, successful television campaign, and ability to appeal to mature audiences regardless of the time period, Breaking Bad continues to be a classic.
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