Entertainment

The 'Breaking Bad' Movie Will Be On Netflix & AMC, So Get Ready To Watch It On Repeat

by Ani Bundel
AMC

Breaking Bad ended on AMC back in 2013, a critical darling from start to finish. But six years later, fans are still missing the characters, and the spinoff, Better Call Saul, is not only a hit but a critical darling racking up the Emmy nominations as well. Naturally, the production team is looking for new ways to revive the core series. In AMC's case, it's taking the show to multiple small screens with a film made for TV. The rumor is the Breaking Bad movie will be on Netflix and AMC, debuting first on the former before going to the latter.

The Breaking Bad movie has been in production for a while, shooting under the working title of "Greenbrier.” AMC has been tight-lipped about it, but former star Bryan Cranston admitted freely he knew the film was in production, though he couldn't say if he would make an appearance.

Word on the street says this film is a sequel featuring Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) set a few years after the TV show, meaning Cranston's chances of being a guest star are low, as his character, Walter White, died at the end of the original series.

Now, The Hollywood Reporter says the TV movie will be following a different kind of release schedule than initially expected, with Netflix stepping in as a partner to bring the Breaking Bad movie to the small screen and getting first run rights as part of the deal.

Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the feature-length movie will be a sequel revolving around Aaron Paul, who will reprise his Emmy-winning role as Jesse Pinkman. Sources also confirm that Netflix will have first-run rights to the top-secret project, which will then air on AMC. (Representatives for AMC, Netflix, and producers Sony Pictures TV all declined to comment.)

For those who don't speak TV lingo, "first run rights" is what it sounds like — the right to air something first. For example, when Black Panther finished its run in theaters, Netflix had the "first run rights" for streaming, meaning it went to Netflix before it went anywhere else.

But when it comes to TV movies, this is not usually how productions do things. It's one thing for a film that played in big theaters to go to Netflix first. But the entire point of AMC doing a TV movie is so those viewers tune into AMC. In most normal situations, AMC would have first run rights, and then Netflix would get to air it days/weeks/months later.

If this story is true, AMC thinks the TV movie made for its channel will only get attention if it streams on Netflix first. This is an interesting choice, especially in light of Netflix's recent boast about You, a show originally made for and aired on Lifetime. Netflix reported the show brought in 40 million viewers in its first month on Netflix when it barely scraped half a million a week during the run on Lifetime.

It will be interesting to see how the Breaking Bad movie does on both Netflix and AMC. The film is expected to arrive next year.