Breaking BadandThe Sopranosare widely considered to be the two greatest TV crime dramas ever made. There have been plenty of great crime dramas throughout television history:The Wireis a documentary-like study of the American city,True Detectiveseason 1 is a Southern Gothic mystery masterpiece, andThe Shieldbrought police corruption to a typical procedural.
But the two titles that come up more than any other areThe SopranosandBreaking Bad.The Sopranosis the darkly comedic, fiercely subversive gangster drama that kicked off the Golden Age of Television (afterOzhad paved the way) andBreaking Badis the razor-sharp character study that introduced the element of change to the long-form storytelling medium.
The Sopranosis easily one of the most influential shows in TV history, and might be the single most influential show of the 21st century. UntilThe Sopranoscame along, there were a few hard-and-fast rules of television: the protagonists had to be likable to keep audiences coming back, and they had to be shot with standard coverage.
David Chase broke all those rules withThe Sopranos. It had bizarre, cinematic visuals and, more importantly, it had extremely unlikable characters. Almost all the protagonists are violent sociopaths who cheat on their spouses and kill without remorse — and audiences were captivated. This proved that TV protagonists didn’t have to be likable; they just had to be interesting.
Breaking Badis one of many antihero dramas to come along in the wake ofThe Sopranos’ success. Walter White, along with Don Draper, Vic Mackey, Tommy Shelby, and Omar Little, followed in Tony Soprano’s footsteps and made audiences empathize with bad people. IfThe Sopranoshadn’t broken the ground it did, it’s safe to say thatBreaking Badwouldn’t exist.
The Sopranos Has More Complex Characters Than Breaking Bad
The characters inThe Sopranosare much more complex and multidimensional than the characters inBreaking Bad. That’s not to say thatBreaking Bad’s charactersare one-note; they’re all well-rounded human beings with several layers of dramatic substance, but apart from Walt himself, who’s an entirely new type of two-faced character, they all fall into pretty familiar archetypes.
Skyler is the long-suffering spouse who feels trapped in her marriage. Hank is the blustering cop who likes to bust people’s chops but is ultimately a good person. Marie is a bored suburbanite who resorts to stealing to imbue her life with some excitement. They’re all interesting characters to watch, played brilliantly by their actors, but they’re not particularly complicated.
InThe Sopranos, on the other hand, the characters are all deeply complex: they have conflicts and contradictions; they have both flaws and redeeming qualities. Take Christopher Moltisanti, for example: he’s a killer, an addict, and an aspiring screenwriter; he loves Tony like family, but also feels undervalued by him; he’s infatuated with Adriana, but he’s also unfaithful and violent in the relationship.
Breaking Badhad a much tighter narrative thanThe Sopranos.The Sopranosnever had much of an overarching narrative; it was more about exploring the daily lives of these unscrupulous mobsters. It had multi-episode arcs, but it doesn’t tell a single cohesive story from beginning to end. It’s more of a character study of Tony, following his day-to-day activities.
ButBreaking Baddid tell one single cohesive story from its first episode to its last. Vince Gilligan famously set out to turn Mr. Chips into Scarface. He started out with a financially unstable high school chemistry teacher getting diagnosed with cancer and deciding to cook crystal meth to pay his medical bills, and he gradually turned that character into a ruthless drug lord.
The SopranosandBreaking Badboth revolutionized television in their own way, and each inspired a wave of copycats.The Sopranosintroduced the concept of the antihero to TV storytelling, and proved that it can be much more compelling to watch a bad person’s mundane everyday life than a good person’s. Every network suddenly wanted their own Tony Soprano.
Breaking Badrevolutionized theSopranos-style antihero drama even further by introducing the concept of change. TV had traditionally been used to maintain the status quo for as long as a show was profitable. But Gilligan realized that this long-form medium could be used to chart a character’s gradual change, andthe saga of Walter Whitewas born.
The Sopranos Is Better, But Both Shows Are Masterpieces
The SopranosandBreaking Badare both masterpieces of their medium, butThe Sopranosis arguably the better show. It’s not without its own flaws — some storylines go nowhere,the Columbus episode is pretty heavy-handed, and its ambiguous ending proved to be extremely polarizing — but, on the whole, it’s a powerful, engaging, fiendishly original look at the criminal underworld.
Breaking Badis anchored by one of the greatest performances ever captured on film,courtesy of Bryan Cranston, but its storytelling relies on a lot of plot contrivances, and it has some cringeworthy moments that stand out on a rewatch, like the dubstep car sequence.Breaking Badis one of the best TV shows ever made, but it didn’t outdoThe Sopranos.
The Sopranos
Cast
The Sopranos follows New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano as he navigates the challenges of managing his family and criminal enterprise. He seeks guidance from psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi while dealing with complex dynamics involving his wife Carmela, cousin Christopher Moltisanti, and other Mafia associates. Released in 1999, this series delves into organized crime and personal struggles.
