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Breaking Badis easily one of the most popular shows of all time, but when it first debuted back in 2008 it was considered a risk even by the standards of cable television at the time. During an interview, lead star Bryan Cranston who played the role of Walter White described the series as an experiment and a dark one at that.
Cranston explained how the show broke the conventions of traditional television in some aspects that made the audiences essentially guinea pigs concerning the content they were being fed. Creator Vince Gilligan resonated with Cranston’s comments and agreed that the show was designed as an experiment. Here is everything you need to know about theBreaking Badexperiment.
Bryan Cranston Revealed HowBreaking BadWas Designed as the Darkest TV Experiment
Bryan Cranstonwon 4 Primetime Emmy Awards for his performance as Walter White in the crime-drama seriesBreaking Bad. Furthermore, Cranston’s character is a revered pop culture figure despite Walter being arguably the most evil character in the series.
During an appearance onWho’s Talking To Chris Wallace?Cranston opened up about portraying a lead character who made morally questionable choices but the audience still rooted for him, which was an experiment in itself. He said:
Vince Gilligan wanted to see how long he can go and how far he can go away from that initial man, and still keep the allegiance from the audience. So it was a real test. And it’s never been done in the history of television.
The show’s pilot episode introduced Cranston’s Walter White as a mild-mannered chemistry teacher dealing with cancer, who slowly becomes the most feared drug kingpin.
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Cranston revealed that the initial setup was designed to make the viewers develop empathy for Walter. As a result, even when the character committed illegal acts and veered too far down the life of crime, the audience kept rooting for him, making Walter the most unique anti-hero/villain on television at the time.
Breaking BadCreator Vince Gilligan Explained Why the Series Was an Experiment
While Cranston opined that creating a sympathetic anti-hero/villain hadn’t been done before on television, something similar was done onThe Sopranoswith Tony Soprano, a mob boss audiences felt empathy for because of his seemingly regular family life.
In an interview with theDaily Beast, creatorVince Gilliganexplained why despite similarities to the HBO series,Breaking Badwas still more experimental. Gilligan stated:
Even though this is a time in television of darker anti-heroes, to me, Breaking Bad is very much an experiment.
Gilligan explained that traditional television was designed to keep characters in self-imposed stasis. DespiteThe Sopranosfocusing on an anti-hero the former criticism was true for the acclaimed series. However, Gilligan admitted that he haddesigned his series to be close-ended from the start.
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Breaking Badbroke the mold by following a well-defined character progression and a series of escalating conflicts that further differentiated Walter from the sympathetic chemistry teacher we meet in the first episode and transformed him into a force to be reckoned with. Therefore, it is easy to agree with Gilligan and Cranston as to why the series was an experiment.
Breaking Badis streaming on Netflix.
Pratik Handore
Content Writer
Articles Published :1774
With a keen interest in comic book movies and blockbuster franchises, Pratik usually covers news and updates on the DCU, MCU, Star Wars, and more.A die-hard fan of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Pratik spends most of his time exploring different storytelling mediums that invoke a sense of wonder and adventure. Other filmmakers whose works have deeply influenced him include Alfred Hitchcock, James Gunn, and Guillermo del Toro.
