‘Breaking Bad’ star praises streaming ahead of Super Bowl ad
This photo provided by Frito-Lay shows Aaron Paul, Bryan Cranston and Raymond Cruz in scene from PopCorners 2023 Super Bowl NFL football spot. (Frito-Lay via AP)
GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) — It’s been nearly a decade since “Breaking Bad” was on the air. But according to Aaron Paul, the iconic series is still “one of those gifts that just keeps on keeps on giving,” thanks to steaming services that allow it to continue to find new fans.
“A lot of these kids that were too young to watch the show when their parents were watching it, they are now old enough to watch. And so, they’re diving in,” Paul said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
His latest project with former co-star Bryan Cranston is a “Breaking Bad”-inspired ad for the chip company PopCorners that will air during this weekend’s Super Bowl.
“The team’s back and pushing a more viable legal product this time,” Paul laughed. “It’s an embarrassment of riches. It’s so hard to get a job in this industry. And then to get one that you really love, but one that just keeps on giving back.”
“Breaking Bad,” which aired on AMC for five seasons, holds the Guinness World Record for the critically highest-rated TV series ever. In addition to the longevity it has sustained from subsequent projects in the show’s franchise, such as “Better Call Saul,” Paul thinks “Breaking Bad” continues to exist in the zeitgeist thanks to its availability on Netflix.
“These shows live, hopefully, forever on these platforms,” Paul said. “New people are getting introduced to it all the time and it’s just so easy to find.”
His comments came soon after HBO pulled the plug on “Westworld,” which Paul starred in, and removed the Emmy-winning sci-fi drama entirely from its streaming platform, HBO Max.
“It was hard because that’s our family, our film family. And so it’s rough not to be able to say a proper goodbye,” Paul said of the move.
“Westworld” received more than 50 Emmy nominations and won nine awards from the TV academy.
Warner Bros. Discovery announced last week that it had struck a deal with The Roku Channel to stream “Westworld” and other shows after they abruptly scrapped and removed a handful of HBO original titles from HBO Max in December.
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