Netflix Is Losing Their Best Series
One of Netflix's best shows, something that's been on almost from the beginning, is soon leaving the streamer
This article is more than 2 years old
As a streamer, Netflix is still the most-used in the United States when it comes to the number of households subscribed to the platform. It has been responsible for some great original programming in recent years but made its bones early on signing deals with established production companies and networks to get shows and movies up in front of eyeballs. For some of these series, there was a mutual benefit in establishing a larger fanbase. One of the first shows Netflix ever truly “saved” was Breaking Bad and it has long been one of the most popular offerings. Now it looks like they will finally lose the series when it goes off the platform. There’s plenty of time to check out Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, and the rest of the crew. But it won’t be forever.
According to The Wrap (via Movie Web), Breaking Bad is one of the many shows seeing an end date on Netflix. It’s going to be February 10, 2025, which will mark the end of the run for those wanting to binge the story on the platform. That will complete a 15-year lifespan on Netflix with Breaking Bad coming in as one of the truly binge-worthy shows for subscribers at the time. And among other popular offerings leaving Netflix around and before that 2025 date will be Community, NCIS, How to Get Away With Murder, and 30 Rock.
Back in 2010, well before they had made a commitment to original programming, Netflix was at the forefront of the move into streaming as the new way to engage with content. Being one of the first out there meant they needed shows and movies to satiate an ever-growing audience. That was when they entered a deal with AMC to stream the first three seasons of Breaking Bad on the platform. The deal worked on a number of different levels. For starters, it became a very popular offering for Netflix which was just seeing the effects of binge-watching from their growing audience.
And the move to Netflix helped Breaking Bad as well. The viewership on AMC had been about 1.2-1.5 million for the first three seasons. But leading into Season 4, Netflix had put all episodes up for viewers to binge and “catch up” with prior to the premiere. It seemed to have worked. With a new batch of fans ready to follow the story, Breaking Bad saw its numbers increase for Season 4, climbing to about 1.9 million viewers per episode. And then Seasons 5 and 6 were where the real magic happened with the number spiking to an average of 4.3 million over the final run for the series. Did Netflix “save” Breaking Bad? That’s not totally clear, but the deal clearly helped the show remain viable.
Netflix has been part of the Breaking Bad franchise as a whole as well. Better Call Saul, the prequel for the series has been available on Netflix and they released El Camino the quasi-sequel for the original series which followed up with Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman after the events of the series finale. Catch it all before Breaking Bad leaves in a few years.
