NYT names Breaking Bad best TV show of the 21st century
i am not going to be mad about breaking bad being number 1. it makes sense. it is a fair reflection of the culture of the era. it’s also an excellent show and hardly the first or last to blow its ending.
elias isquith299a culture where highbrow ppl are obsessed with tony soprano and lowerbrow ppl are obsessed with being walter white is in retrospect BEGGING for a strongman
whet moser19i have a weird thing about endings where, if something was really great until the ending, how much does that ruin it? is the end of a mystery/crime/etc weighted more heavily than a drama or comedy? i don’t have an answer, it’s just fun to think about
Vincent SEGA16wow way to sneak the hot take in there
Zeb Larson11This is why BCS > BB.
Nick9Granted I haven’t watched it all the way through since my first watch in 2014, but would you consider the shoehorning in of Walter fighting the neo-Nazis as part of the “blowing it”? That’s how I recall feeling at the time, like they were uncomfortable with how much people liked Walter in spite…
Jeff F8Breaking Bad achieved some of the highest highs in the medium and yet I'd rank Better Call Saul above it. It's the more "complete" show (and has a far stronger supporting cast, IMO). Also, I wasn't as down on BB's ending as some but come on, everything after "Ozymandias" feels totally optional
Erica Meltzer12I straight up remembered the ending of Breaking Bad being that Walter White died alone in the cabin. That was so clearly the correct ending for the show, that I rewrote the memory in my brain to make that the ending. I was shocked when I rewatched it!
POTUS4Honestly I think the mistake is numbering them at all. IMO just give the top 100 with no information about ranking *within* the top 100 (Yes, this is a dumb opinion that doesn't matter, but idc)
Milo Baynes and the Last Train to Backlashville2I’m self-aware enough to know that I consume TV in ways others do not. I know my heuristics. So I know I’ll never watch BB, Succession, or other AAA “lives of the powerful & broken” shows. I now tell fans “it’s on my list” & they think i’m forestalling spoilers… but it’s to NOT say “aww hell nah.”
What's great about this list is that it starts with Breaking Bad at #1 so you can immediately crumple it up and throw it away without looking at all of the other stupid decisions they made. I'm a huge BB fan and have seen every episode at least a dozen times and there's no way it's #1, I'm sorry.
Read Settlers da Silva44Yeah it's better call Saul
Tactical Moon Pie11Not only do I not think BB should be #1, it shouldn't be ranked higher than BCS.
Lady Celestina, Princesa de Pastel4I saw a few episodes and decided to not waste my time because it infuriated me, so I'm glad that even though we're on opposite ends of the spectrum we can agree it shouldn't be #1.
some day, in the distant future, i will understand why people like breaking bad
Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li63wrong: i understand the appeal entirely. it just shows that you all have terrible taste
Chatham Harrison dba TRUMP DELENDUS EST49I think about Mad Men all the time. I think about 30 Rock. I think about Band of Brothers. I think about the Wire & I only watched like 3/4 of a season. I think about Better Call Saul. There is nothing to say about Breaking Bad. A guy Breaks Bad because he was actually bad all along, okay. Great
midnight jon, increasingly buff but Tired™ 💛🤍💜🖤20how the kentucky fried FUCK is avatar the last airbender not on this
Brandon Downey10It is a gom jabbar test for whether you, the viewer, are also a terrible person and want to make Walter into a hero. It's really well written and it is a great story about how getting your wish of agency is not always an example of virtue.
MKSutherland7The Wire is the Shakespeare of our time
Hellscape Navigator7it's just a long Twilight Zone episode. Man gets what he wants, is destroyed by it. Faust by way of meth instead of demonology.
Paul Crider29Solidarity with my colleague here. Hit me with your slings and arrows.
DJ Uncle Fishbits2I hate I have so many opinions about a list that doesn't matter. I've realized I will foam at the mouth defending the accidental massive cultural relevance of I Think You Should Leave vs any other sketch show, so that's something.
🇨🇦Vita❤️🔥Breva🏳️⚧️2It's probably the last great work of Calvinist art. Total depravity: the series.
I’ll bite. Breaking Bad was a fine and totally forgettable show. Veep should easily be top three. 30 Rock is too low. The Wire should be No. 1.
Denny Carter43and where is Watchmen? one of the best shows ever made can't crack the list?
ashley (ravens 1-1) 🌹25the first take is crazy as shit.
Andrew W17I don't think you can include a show that has entire season of absolute crap as a top show. GOT was so, so bad by the end that it doesn't deserve the top 10.
W.E.D.em Boyz14I know and respect people who don't love Breaking Bad but FORGETTABLE? That is like the one thing you cannot say it is.
Unc Nic13Denny takes off his guy faux mask to reveal he’s wearing joker makeup. Everyone on Bluesky groans.
GoalieLax10Better Call Saul was a better show Than Breaking Bad
“Breaking Bad” is the best TV show of the 21st century, according to our industry poll. We reunited the creator Vince Gilligan and the stars Bryan Cranston and Giancarlo Esposito to discuss its making and why it resonates nearly 20 years after its debut. nyti.ms/4xH21nt
Brandy Alexander🍸6Better Call Saul got robbed yet again
The Center Holds5I don't see alot (any) of people strongly claiming Breaking Bad was a poor choice to be #1, even if they don't agree with it. Which is a good sign it is likley the right choice.
dstan1.bsky.social4It's great. I prefer Saul
The Concerned Centrist4Obviously this is subjectivity bait, although I do love lists. But Downton Abbey listed above Slow Horses (which should be top 10) and The Thick Of It? Come oooooon!!!!
Political Opossum3Breaking Bad isn’t even the best show set in the “Breaking Bad” universe…
Le Chef 103The Wire and True Detective S1.
I'm disturbed that I've never even heard of the 18th entry in the NYT best TV shows list. (My only other take is that I can't seriously consider a list that is 99% US shows.)
Warren Terra11Michaela Coel as writer and star. Fantastic reviews, but the studio squabbled with her over ownership* and the result was a total lack of promotion or follow-up. I'm on her side obviously
Gail Dudson11Michaela Coel wrote, starred. BBC commission. Unnerving, but brilliant.
Tony H7Ye gods, at least Derry Girls in this list somewhere, I don't care where.
The Mockers5And the British Office is a lot better than the US version.
Flynn 🌹🪬5I May Destroy You is Michaela Coel and is damn good, but I also recommend Black Earth Rising with her and John Goodman. She is a talent to be watched.
Ann Marie Connolly 3Michaela Coel is superb in I may Destroy you. A slice of London life as she navigates her life post drugged rape. Well worth watching
My hottest NYT "Best Shows of the 21st century" takes: - Better Call Saul should be higher Breaking Bad - Somebody Somewhere = top 20 show - Lost should be in top ten consideration, if not top 5 - Succession should be in the 20s, not the top ten - if Bluey isn't in the top 20, everybody's lying
Phillip Maciak37I feel a strong sense of advocacy for LOST, even as a The-Finale-Was-Bad-Actually truther. Its sheer scale — in terms of storytelling and duration — the way we were glued to it weekly. What leads folks to overrate Severance, I think, is a hunger for that kind of original puzzle box storytelling.
Benjamin Andrew3Omg I forgot about Bluey on my ballot 🫣
wilco de lange2Still crazy that Rectify is not on the list.
Rachel Banner1Mostly correct here, but I can’t support Bluey adults
Kathryn VanArendonk29pretty clear about where i fall on some of these issues
whet moser27"somebody somewhere" is so familiar if you're from anywhere like it and it's the kind of culture that gets overlooked
Phillip Maciak26Ok, I'll further add: - The Americans actually does what everyone *says* Breaking Bad does - The Crown is the only thing that feels truly out of place - FNL is underrated because it feels too good to watch; people take it less seriously because of FEELS - US and UK Office swap places
Judy Berman13I don't agree with all of these, BUT I am basically guaranteed to get along with any person who prefers Better Call Saul to Breaking Bad. Not that BB preferrers are bad. But BCS preferrers are generally on the same page.
Zack Davisson11Midnight Diner If it is not Top 5, then you have never watched it.
Jen Chaney10I agree with pretty much all of this, especially the Saul and Lost comments.
Daramola7I still think Transparent is a top 20 all time television show
The NYT list of the best TV shows of the 21st century. Some bizarre choices, some omissions and the order is wrong, but okay.
James M. Wright9Everybody has favorites, but I can't take seriously a list that ranks Breaking Bad above The Wire.
TD Warner2How has Veep and 30 Rock beat The Office??? My kids have watched every episode of The Office, on their own, but have never heard of the others. And Handmaid's Tale and Ozarks in the lower 60's...those are epic, one of a kind shows
3 Goldens and a Lab2No Luther or Sherlock 🤔
Norm1Lists that don't have bizarre choices, omissions or wrong orders are the only ones worth paying attention to so.... go have a pint Mark. 😁
worldcitizen1994.bsky.social1Oh, I see it now. No. 17? Should be way higher than that.
worldcitizen1994.bsky.social1Unless I missed it, where is "The Americans"? That's my No. 3 choice, after "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men."
I don't think this is a hot take but better call Saul is better than breaking Bad and I will literally go to war and die on the cross for this. They hated him for he spoke the truth
samantha17this is like my take that the original run of futurama is better than any period of the simpsons in that it's both completely correct and makes people really mad for some reason i bet
Hot-Catgirl-Khonsu6It's hard for me to pick a favorite. They're both much higher art than I think most people recognize them for. BCS makes some of the unintentionally dark comedy in BB seem more intentional. I also have a rant about how breaking bad was themed as a metaphor for dialectical materialism and 1/2
Spooky4i agree. but i also think you gotta watch breaking bad first to really get it
Big Immigrant Naturals.2Someone's going to call you ageist for liking the younger show.
Matt Olson2I agree but only because it took a while for them to figure out what breaking bad was supposed to be and they figured it out on the fly. Seasons 3-5 of breaking bad are better than saul.
the pawjob expert1i wanna watch it so bad
I haven’t watched it so I can’t comment but it seems like a lot of the big feelings I hear people voice about Breaking Bad are about how much people hate the wife which seems odd given that the protagonist sounds like an awful person.
CuppaKofe ☕️33“Wow! She found out her husband runs a meth ring and it’s tearing their lives apart? What a BITCH!”
Singing fish industry lobbyist8Everything the protagonist’s wife, Skyler White, does is entirely logical and reasonable. I suspect a lot of manbabies soured on her character at the start of season 2 when she gives Walt the silent treatment because he’s lying to her. It was probably triggering for them.
John Ottaway3It is brilliantly written so that you flip back and forth about "liking" him, so I can understand people taking his side, but the hatred towards Skylar (his wife) was absolutely ridiculous.
Raspy2And that's a condemnation of the audience, cause the worst things Skylar White does in the show is 1: Be an annoying vaguely conservative woman. 2: Be upset about her husband becoming a meth king pin. 3: Reluctantly work with him as to not bring ruination to her family.
