Picture: Sony Pictures Television / AMC
For those worried about Breaking Bad leaving Netflix, we’ve got some good news. The series is no longer scheduled to leave on February 10th, 2025, as previously reported, with the license having been extended through to at least 2027.
Let’s rewind back to 2022. You may recall we did a joint investigation with The Wrap looking into when some of the biggest titles would be leaving Netflix in the coming years. For the most part, we got most of the dates right. New Girl departed in April 2023; a year later, Community left the streamer globally globally in April 2024. Many more dates have yet to be realized, but a couple have now shifted. NCIS, for example, was set to leave in full in June 2024, but a new deal was struck to bring a couple of new seasons to the streamer but at the expense of those older seasons.
As we stressed at the time (as we always do when it comes to removals), removals are not set in stone. When a license comes up for renewal, it’s up to both parties—in this case, Netflix and Sony Pictures Television (AMC does not own the underlying rights despite originally airing there)—to keep the license going. If an agreement can’t be reached, the show gets pulled.
Picture: Sony Pictures Television
Breaking Bad Will Stay on Netflix Until At Least 2027
Netflix globally will be keeping Breaking Bad until April 18th, 2027. Around two and a bit years from when this article is being published, with the caveat that this could be pushed back again (as we predict it might) if the license is renewed.
Why has the date shifted back? Well, it looks like the reason is because of Better Call Saul. April 18th is the date in 2023 when the sixth and final season of that show was added (to Netflix in the United States), suggesting to us that the removal date was pushed to be in line with when Better Call Saul will leave, which at present, is also for April 18th, 2027. That removal is exactly four years after season 6 was added.
Netflix Could Still Renew The License to Breaking Bad
If we had to bet on it, we’d predict that Netflix would try to renew its license to Breaking Bad.
If we look at the show’s stats, they’re still absolutely staggering. Looking at the combined 2023 and 2024 Netflix Engagement Report (covering January 2023 through June 2024), the show still pulls in 10s of millions of viewing hours every 6 months. If we combine the views on all the seasons for that period, you get to 127.6M views.
Picture: What’s on Netflix Engagement Report Search Tool
While Breaking Bad is safe, there are plenty of licensed series set to leave Netflix in 2025. Some favorites from The CW, like Arrow and Supernatural, are leaving in the latter part of this year, as well as Suits and Madam Secretary. As always, we’ll keep you alerted to big departures as and when we learn of them.
All five seasons of Breaking Bad are streaming on Netflix globally alongside El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie and Better Call Saul.
