“I don’t understand the system”: Breaking Bad Creator Vince Gilligan Turns Against ‘Savior’ Netflix After Streaming Giant Refused to Pay Aaron Paul’s Residuals
Breaking Bad is one of the most popular crime drama TV series. Created and produced by Vince Gilligan, the show ran for five seasons between 2008 and 2013. The show is known as one of the greatest TV shows of all time for the amount of attention it has managed to get over the years.
Despite the average viewership the first season of Breaking Bad had due to the ongoing writers’ strike in 2008, it went on to gain more and more viewers with each season, unlike most serialized shows that see a downward trend in viewership. Creator Vince Gilligan might be eternally grateful to Netflix for becoming the show’s saving grace, but that certainly did not help him understand how the streaming system works.
Breaking Bad Creator Does Not Understand How Streamers Work
Breaking Bad is one of those very few shows that depict mid-life crisis. It follows a well-educated, demoralised, and underpaid teacher Walter White (portrayed by Bryan Cranston) who has been diagnosed with lung cancer and has turned to illegal means to secure his family’s financial future before his death. He joins hands with a former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) as he navigates through the criminal world.
It is a known fact that streamers work wonders for shows that would otherwise fail due to lack of momentum. Vince Gilligan has no issues accepting this because he has first-hand experience of it. However, he has also admitted that he has no idea how streamers work.
Speaking with Variety after the WGA was over, Gilligan said:
“I don’t know how streaming makes money. How do you monetize doing 700 shows, with each one having six or eight episodes and only two or three seasons? I guess Netflix is profitable — certainly that’s what they tell Wall Street — but I don’t know how streaming generally can be a profitable enterprise, compared to the old system of ad-supported seasons of 20-some episodes or more. […..] I don’t understand the system, but sometimes it feels like a Ponzi scheme to me.”
Gilligan’s point of view of this whole thing is also right because the streamers have made entertainment accessible, but it is hard to tell if the system is sustainable in the long run when it comes to being profitable.
Breaking Bad Star Aaron Paul Did Not Receive Any Residuals From Netflix
Aaron Paul plays the role of Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2010, 2012, and 2014. Despite his excellent work on the series, Paul did not receive any residuals from Netflix for the show’s streaming.
Speaking on the matter with Entertainment Canada Tonight during a picket in September, Paul said:
“I don’t get a piece from Netflix on Breaking Bad, if we’re being totally honest, and that’s insane to me. Shows live forever on these streamers, and it goes through waves. I just saw the other day that Breaking Bad was trending on Netflix.”
The Westworld actor went on to say that it seemed like streamers such as Netflix knew that they could get away with not paying fair wages to artists and so, it was one of those things for which people were protesting during the SAG-AFTRA strike.
