Breaking Bad is rightly considered one of the best TV shows of all-time, but it wasn’t a big hit, at least not in the early seasons. Only one episode in the first four seasons was viewed by over two million people — yet every episode in the final season hit that mark, including 10 million for the series finale.
Why did Breaking Bad suddenly get so big? “I think Netflix kept us on the air,” creator Vince Gilligan said back in 2013. “I don’t think our show would have even lasted beyond season two… It’s a new era in television, and we’ve been very fortunate to reap the benefits.”
Breaking Bad was one of the first shows to benefit from the Netflix Effect. And it’s happening again for another Bryan Cranston-starring series. Your Honor, which aired for two relatively anonymous seasons on Showtime, has become a surprise success on the streaming service. According to Variety, the legal drama “was watched for 1.5 billion minutes from June 3 to June 9. This accounts for viewership across both Paramount+, where the series was already available, and Netflix, where it had its first full week of availability after being added on May 31.” A month later, Your Honor is still in the Netflix top 10.
“A first time experience gets a lot of attention, but there is a lot to be said for a second time,” Cranston said in a statement. “To have Your Honor get new life at Netflix is the dream scenario. Millions more people now have the chance to catch up with this extraordinary show that I am so proud of.”
If Your Honor gets big enough, maybe there will be a prequel series.
(Via Variety)
