TV fans will forever owe a debt of gratitude to Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, as they are the principal filmmakers who brought us what is not just one of the greatest small screen crime franchises, but two series that are unquestionably among the greatest shows of all time: Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Bryan Cranston’s Walter White, Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman and Bob Odenkirk’s Jimmy McGill are just three of the best Breaking Bad characters in the complex, scary, and intense world of crime in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the storytelling is brilliant. One can highlight the best episodes of Breaking Bad and the best episodes of Better Call Saul, but it’s really the full breadth of the canon that is truly special – especially when you also bring the fantastic feature-length film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie into the mix.
Following the end of Better Call Saul in 2022, one could start looking for other shows like Breaking Bad… but why not instead try and enjoy the full scope of the incredible crime drama with a new perspective that you may not have previously experienced? With three separate titles and some timeline jumping in the stories, there are multiple ways to enjoy the Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul/El Camino continuity, and we’ve put together this feature in aid of helping you learn about how to do just that.
If You’ve Never Seen Breaking Bad And Better Call Saul Before
Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul/El Camino spent years earning hype and acclaim from professional critics and casual TV watchers alike… but are you only now finally getting around to watching them? If the answer to that question is “yes,” then your focus should be on watching the series and the film in the same order in which they were originally released. There’s no need to get fancy just yet – simply watch the series and film in release order.
If You’ve Seen Breaking Bad And Better Call Saul Before
If you’ve already seen Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul/El Camino, then you know that the timeline is a bit more complicated than your average TV crime franchise. While El Camino is a kind of spin-off sequel movie, Better Call Saul is a spin-off prequel and sequel that fills in some gaps both before and after the story in Breaking Bad. The good news is that it’s never complicated enough to screw up clarity, and it means that fans can try and get a new angle on the canon by doing a chronological viewing. You might be surprised, but there’s a lot to get out of it.
Breaking Bad And Better Call Saul In Order: By Release Date
Watching the Breaking Bad franchise in order is pretty straightforward… but there is one hitch that necessitates explanation. As noted earlier, Breaking Bad launched the canon in 2008, and it was followed by the prequel series Better Call Saul in 2015… but you shouldn’t jump right from one to the other. While El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie wasn’t released until October 2019 (between Better Call Saul’s fourth and fifth seasons), you shouldn’t hold off on watching the film until you are deep into the second show. Instead, it should be what you watch after the Breaking Bad finale, making this the proper watch order:
- Breaking Bad (Seasons 1-5) – Aired January 20, 2008 – September 29, 2013
- El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie – Premiered October 11, 2019
- Better Call Saul (Seasons 1-6) – Aired February 8, 2015 – August 15, 2022
Breaking Bad And Better Call Saul In Order: Chronologically
Sadly, Breaking Bad franchise fans will never get the opportunity to experience the canon with perfectly fresh eyes ever again – with memories of the most shocking and incredible twists and turns being impossible to forget – but at the very least one can change things up with a chronological rewatch. As noted earlier, non-linear events in various episodes don’t allow this viewing experience to be perfect, but it’s a fun way to mix things up.
Better Call Saul (Season 1, Episode 1 to Season 6, Episode 9)
Witness the brilliant rise of Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk): an ever-hustling hustler who tries to go straight by becoming a defense attorney serving the good people of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He gets love and support from some, including brilliant colleague Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn), but he is also repeatedly scorned trying to earn the respect of his professional, albeit mentally ill, older brother (Michael McKean).
He takes a shot at an honest life, but Jimmy is also never one to ignore a semi-legal opportunity and/or shortcut, and his journey becomes the story of a man’s moral downfall as he transforms into criminal lawyer Saul Goodman. This arc is mapped through the first episode of the first season (“Uno”) through the ninth episode of the sixth season (“Fun And Games”).
Breaking Bad (Season 1, Episode 1 to Season 5, Episode 16)
Picking up about three years after where the action ends in Better Call Saul’s “Fun And Games,” the Breaking Bad pilot introduces audiences to Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher who learns that he has only months to live after a lung cancer diagnosis. Claiming to not want to leave his family with the financial burden that would come as a result of his treatment, Walter decides to team up with a former student and drug dealer named Jessie Pinkman (Aaron Paul) to cook and sell the highest quality methamphetamine that the world has ever seen. Within two years they are able to build an empire – but not without remarkable cost.
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Jesse Pinkman’s fate is left mostly ambiguous in the Breaking Bad series finale, “Felina,” but the confusion is cleared up in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. The story is set in the immediate aftermath of the hit show, and it chronicles what happens to the (literally) tortured protagonist after he manages to survive his partnership with Walter White. The Netflix film provides a satisfying conclusion to the character’s tale as he attempts to escape Albuquerque and forge a new life for himself with a new identity.
Better Call Saul (Season 6, Episode 10 to Season 6, Episode 13)
Speaking of new identities, the final four episodes making up the Better Call Saul ending center on Jimmy McGill in his post-Saul Goodman life, living in Omaha, Nebraska under the alias, Gene Takavic. Taking place a couple months after the events El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, the final arc of the show sees the former lawyer taking one last crack at setting up a criminal enterprise and ultimately facing the consequences for his life of misdeeds.
As they have been for years, Breaking Bad, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, and Better Call Saul are all available to stream with a Netflix subscription and the entire canon is also available for purchase on Blu-ray or from digital retailers. Once you finish watching/rewatching, you can check in on the latest work of Breaking Bad’s principal stars.
