Slippin’ Jimmy: The Weak Link in Breaking Bad’s Franchise

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Breaking Bad is an exceptionally well-made TV series – unlike many franchises that have inconsistent quality, this crime drama is consistently excellent. However, even a show this good faces challenges when creating spinoffs, as it’s incredibly difficult to replicate the success of the original.

Gilligan and Peter Gould achieved something remarkable with Better Call Saul. While Breaking Bad is considered one of the greatest TV shows ever made – with some calling it the best, only surpassed by The Wire – Better Call Saul not only lived up to those high standards but potentially exceeded them.

Vince Gilligan continued his success with the world of Breaking Bad by revisiting the story of Jesse Pinkman. The film El Camino served as a follow-up to the original series, resolving Jesse’s unresolved fate. Essentially a bonus episode and a satisfying epilogue, El Camino was a welcome continuation of the Breaking Bad story.

Slippin’ Jimmy Is The Weak Link In Breaking Bad’s Near-Perfect Franchise

Vince Gilligan’s shows – Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and El Camino – have created a remarkably consistent and high-quality television world. Unlike some other franchises that have stumbled with failures like Marvel’s Secret Invasion or divisive seasons like the final season of Game of Thrones or much of The Walking Dead, Gilligan’s universe has largely avoided major missteps. However, one project does stand out as a weak link: Slippin’ Jimmy.

Released in 2022 alongside the final season of Better Call Saul, Slippin’ Jimmy is a humorous animated series that tells the story of a young Jimmy McGill growing up in Cicero, Illinois. Sean Giambrone, known from The Goldbergs, voices Jimmy, and Kyle S. More plays his friend and accomplice, Marco Pasternak. Although all six episodes were released at once, the series received negative reviews from critics.

Slippin’ Jimmy is designed like an anthology series, where each episode playfully references a different movie genre. You’ll see homages to everything from silent comedies reminiscent of Buster Keaton, to horror films like The Exorcist, and even gritty spaghetti westerns in the style of Sergio Corbucci. It’s a mature animated comedy, similar to shows like Family Guy or South Park.

This approach didn’t quite fit the serious and realistic tone of the Breaking Bad world. While Slippin’ Jimmy had a more exaggerated, almost cartoonish feel with its crime stories and quirky humor, Breaking Bad and its related shows are generally known for their gritty realism and exploration of difficult human themes, making this style feel out of place.

Why Slippin’ Jimmy Shouldn’t Be Considered A “Breaking Bad Show”

The show Slippin’ Jimmy feels disconnected from the rest of the Breaking Bad universe because it’s so over-the-top and unbelievable, with storylines involving things like demons and train wrecks. While Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and El Camino all feel connected and grounded in a realistic world, Slippin’ Jimmy ventures into its own, much more fantastical territory.

Although AMC hasn’t officially said so, many reviews have treated the Slippin’ Jimmy short as not being part of the main Better Call Saul story. It feels out of place to consider a silly cartoon about a possessed nun as being connected to the serious themes of a teacher becoming a criminal and a lawyer starting a new life in Nebraska.

Releasing Slippin’ Jimmy at the same time as the Better Call Saul midseason finale, “Plan and Execution,” was an odd choice. That finale is incredibly dark and intense – arguably the most shocking and realistic moment in the Breaking Bad universe – so the lightheartedness of Slippin’ Jimmy felt like a stark contrast.

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2026-04-01 16:28