Copyright Screen Rant
Apple TV seems to have the perfect Ozark replacement show, which can be seen as a modern take on Breaking Bad. Ozark and Breaking Bad have earned their place among the most compelling crime thriller shows of all time. Although Ozark never reached the same level of influence and acclaim as Breaking Bad, it is still remembered as one of the most gritty and tightly written explorations of moral decay in modern television. One original show on Apple TV has also shown immense potential with its opening season. While it is not yet in the same league as Breaking Bad and Ozark, it has the potential to become a perfect replacement for both shows in the near future. Interestingly, it already seems like a modern take on Breaking Bad in one significant way. Like Breaking Bad, Your Friends & Neighbors Reflects The Economic Despair & Anxieties Of The Era Breaking Bad's story begins with a middle-class man, Walter White, getting pushed into the world of crime after he realizes that his family will be left with nothing if he dies. This comes off as a harsh reflection of how government-led systems fail regular hardworking citizens in times of illness and hardship. Even the mounting hospital bills make Walter White realize that he must resort to desperate measures to earn money. Breaking Bad also unfolded against the backdrop of a massive financial crisis in the real world. Although the show does not explicitly try to make this a primary plot point, it is hard not to see Walter White as a personification of the desperation that drives an average citizen during times of economic collapse. Apple TV's Your Friends And Neighbors tries to capture a similar zeitgeist, highlighting how a man struggles to give up on his luxurious lifestyle after suddenly losing his job. Its protagonist, Andrew Cooper (Jon Hamm), does not dip his feet in the world of cartels and drug manufacturing. He does, however, become a petty thief and steals from his affluent neighbors to stay afloat. Cooper's story is more of a reflection of the present world's obsession with status, image, and material comfort. In Cooper's narrative, one can see an echo of Tyler Durden's iconic quote from Fight Club: We're the middle children of history, man: No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war; our Great Depression is our lives. While Andrew Cooper's journey in Your Friends and Neighbors is far less dark than Walter White's in Breaking Bad, the fact that both men are driven to crime by economic and existential desperation reveals a shared thematic core. Both shows dissect the quiet collapse of the middle-class ideal to the point where an individual's dignity and morality erode under financial and economic pressures. Your Friends & Neighbors Still Lacks One Key Ingredient That Made Breaking Bad Successful Both Bryan Cranston and Jon Hamm capture their respective characters brilliantly in Breaking Bad and Your Friends and Neighbors respectively. However, one of the biggest reasons why Walter White has become a cultural icon is the relatability in his characterization and the scale and intensity of his transformation. Andrew Cooper is portrayed as a well-off man in Your Friends and Neighbors' early moments before he starts losing everything he has built for himself. Walter White starts with nothing and gradually descends into a world of corruption. While Cooper's anxiety and self-deception in the Apple TV show are also relatable, Walter White and Marty Byrde's externalized despair in Breaking Bad and Ozark, respectively, hit harder.
