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AMC’s Breaking Bad was a phenomenon not just once, but twice, thanks to the show’s continued life on streaming platforms after its initial run — and at Rose City Comic Con 2024, cast members addressed the ways in which the series’ streaming afterlife has allowed it to live on far longer than anyone expected… and maybe made watching the show far easier, as well.

“I used to watch it live on Sundays, and I kind of felt like the commercials were needed because it was like a chapter break. I think that affected how you watched in a way, and also waiting a week, and talking about it; [people were] like, ‘God, what's going to happen this week?’ I think that's a special experience that we won't have ever again, but you know, the good news is that it does get introduced, and will be introduced, to new generations every year [on streaming]. I think it's a rite of passage for kids who go to college,” said Dean Norris. “I think it's lovely. It's almost like it's a novel now that gets taken off the shelf, and generations will get to watch it, and that's a really nice feeling.”

“I’m a big believer in ‘cable's coming back,’” argued RJ Mitte, joking that “the room just got quiet” when he made the admittedly counter-intuitive statement. “The impact that Breaking Bad has had, not just in television, but with the disability community… You know, the show's in the Smithsonian. It's part of American television history. And I think Netflix and other platforms give it the avenue to live on forever like we could have never imagined. You know, it was the number one most pirated television show in television. It was a massive issue in Eastern Europe, and they were wondering how they're getting Breaking Bad, back in the day, LimeWire and all that. And then they created streaming platforms which allowed it to be legal television, and I think it's truly remarkable.”

As Norris suggested, the switch in platforms impacts how the show plays out for audiences, but Daniel Moncada believes that’s actually a plus. “I recently watched it again on Netflix. I watched Breaking Bad, then I watched El Camino and Better Call Saul, and to be honest, I had a better experience because I didn't have to wait a fucking year for it, right? I just watched it and watched it, like, I would watch it five, six, seven episodes a day, and I had a better experience, because I was able to remember every single thing that happened. For example, when I started watching Better Call Saul, a lot of things that happened, I'm watching Breaking Bad two weeks before, and they were connecting. When we had the little gap of one or two years between Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, you kind of have to re-watch it again to be able to remember. So I think the streaming services, even though they're shitty for residuals, it’s a thing I dig.”

Breaking Bad is available on Netflix. Apparently, it’s a lot of fun that way.

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