Breaking Bad is a groundbreaking television drama. Breaking Bad aired its final episode more than eight years ago. The absence that Breaking Bad left in the television landscape is still felt to this day. There is no shortage of challenging and ambitious television series that dominate the medium. However, many shows overextend themselves or don’t know when to say goodbye.

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Breaking Bad’s legacy remains because it continually raised its stakes in ways that feel believable. Breaking Bad ended at the perfect point - before it wore out its welcome. Audiences are eager to identify the next Breaking Bad that will keep them engaged in the same way. This is no small feat, but there are some excellent series out there that bring Breaking Bad to mind.

10 Better Call Saul Expands Breaking Bad’s World In Enlightening Ways

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Spin-offs are an inherently risky proposition. With the immaculate ending that Breaking Bad concludes on, many fans were wary that a prequel series focused on Saul Goodman would tarnish Breaking Bad's legacy. Better Call Saul begins with a slow, methodical start. Better Call Saul has proven to be just as tense and compelling as its predecessor.

Better Call Saul has even surpassed Breaking Bad in certain areas and the immaculate performance from Bob Odenkirk continues to be a revelation. Better Call Saul is as good as television gets, whether it’s viewed on its own or in relation to Breaking Bad.

9 Fargo Captures The Eccentricities Of The Coen Brothers In A Stunning Crime Anthology

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Television has wholeheartedly embraced anthology series during the past decade, allowing certain series to tell ambitious and interconnected narratives. Noah Hawley’s Fargo is a reimagining of the Coen Brothers’ crime classicFargo maintains the film’s tone but forges ahead with new stories about crime corruption.

Each season of Fargo tells a new story from a different period. These separate narratives begin to connect in satisfying ways. Fargo's quirky approach to crime and the figures that fight for power is reminiscent of Breaking Bad’s sensibilities.

8 Snowfall’s Depiction Of The Growing Crack Cocaine Epidemic Is Filled With Dread

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Set back in early 1980s Los Angeles, Snowfall chronicles the catastrophic rise of crack cocaine in South Central and how it destroys the neighborhood. Snowfall breaks down this problem from every perspective, not just those of the drug dealers.

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Franklin Saint's transformation into a drug kingpin isn't nearly as drastic as Walter White's, but the gradual loss of his humanity is just as haunting. Snowfall’s fifth season hits in 2022 and is set to push Franklin and company into the darkest material yet.

7 Ozark Examines The Dark Descent Of A Mild-Mannered Family Into An Unruly Drug Empire

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There’s a lot of the same DNA shared between Breaking Bad and Netflix’s Ozark. There’s even some of the same creative staff involved. Ozark looks at an ordinary family’s indoctrination into a criminal underworld. Marty Byrde, an earnest financial adviser, becomes a money launderer for a drug cartel.

The Byrdes sink deeper into darkness and Marty Byrde’s transformation isn’t unlike that of Walter White, right down to the casting of Jason Bateman in the role. The first part of Ozark’s fourth and final season has recently hit Netflix. Audiences couldn’t be more concerned for the ultimate fate of the Byrdes.

6 The Shield’s Corrupt Vic Mackey Is A Prototype For Walter White’s Flawed Protagonist

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FX’s The Shield concluded its superlative seven-season run a little over a decade ago. The Shield is relevant today with its unflinching look at corruption and manipulation within the police force. The storytelling and character development of the various members of The Shield’s Strike Team is harrowing.

The protagonist, Vic Mackey, begins the pilot on thin ice that only progressively cracks. Flawed anti-heroes like Walter White would be impossible without the groundwork that’s laid by figures like The Shield’s Vic Mackey.

5 Good Girls Highlights How Anyone Has The Capacity To Be A Criminal

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Breaking Bad slowly graduates into a hardened and vicious series. Part of Breaking Bad's initial appeal lies in how utterly overwhelmed Walter and Jesse are with their increasing criminal antics. Good Girls taps into that energy. Good Girls follows three housewives who are driven to commit armed robbery, only to end up laundering money and unable to escape from their criminal connections.

Good Girls was canceled after its fourth season without a proper conclusion. The suspenseful and emotional journey that’s crafted along the way still makes Good Girls worth the investment.

4 Power’s Expanding Saga Has Developed A Fascinating Fight For Control

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Power has become one of STARZ's most successful series. Power has a well-paced and dangerous look at a drug dealer's struggle to leave his criminal roots behind and move into a life of legitimacy. The two directions that "Ghost" gets pulled in brings Walter White's internal conflict to mind, even if they're very different individuals.

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The sixth and final season of Power is on the way. Power has impressively developed its own interconnected universe through a series of spin-offs, including 2022's Power Book IV: Force.

3 The Wire Is An Elegant Deconstruction Of Baltimore And Its War On Drugs

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There is no shortage of television programs that break down wars on different drugs across contrasting areas in the world. Breaking Bad turns Albuquerque, New Mexico into its own character. The template for this approach gets established in The Wire’s multifaceted analysis of Baltimore.

Each season of The Wire shines a light on a different industry and pillar of the city. This culminates in a remarkable account of a community lost in a war with no end. The Wire provides a layered and authentic look at both its criminals and the police force, similar to how Breaking Bad gives each side depth.

2 Dopesick Details The Raw Horrors Of The Opioid Crisis From Every Angle

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Prestige television has been able to provide opportunities for nearly every major drug to get put under the microscope. Hulu’s 2021 Dopesick is a terrifying look at the growth of Opioids during the 1990s. The fluid perspectives in Dopesick accentuate just how debilitating of a problem Oxycontin would become and the wide array of victims that it claims.

Pained performances by Michael Keaton, Kaitlyn Dever, and Peter Sarsgaard bring raw emotions to this sensitive subject matter. Lives are utterly ruined by the addictive powers of Oxycontin, just like the severity of methamphetamines in Breaking Bad.

1 Peaky Blinders Looks At The Worst In The Wake Of World War I

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It came as a major surprise to many when the upcoming sixth and final season of the British crime series, Peaky Blinders, was announced. Peaky Blinders' previous season had ended more than two years previously. Peaky Blinders creates a rich underworld of criminals that carry a lot of the same traits as Breaking Bad's more unscrupulous villains.

The hook with Peaky Blinders is that it filters this criminal unrest and gang warfare through the early 1900s following the First World War. Peaky Blinders presents the intensity of Breaking Bad, but with a classical setting.

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