The X-Files Episode That Impacted Breaking Bad's Future
By Ava Barnes
While The X-Files helped secure Cranston's role on Breaking Bad, the potential for an eighth season of Malcolm in the Middle nearly made it impossible for him to star in the AMC series. During the podcast, the actor revealed that Fox waited until the last possible moment to decide to officially cancel the hit sitcom, and had the show come back, it would have been impossible for Cranston to do both Malcolm in the Middle and Breaking Bad at the same time.
"Fox said, 'Keep the sets up. We might do an eighth season of Malcolm in the Middle.' And everyone was like, 'Yeah, that'd be great.' In late April and early May, they called when the upfronts are going on, they said, 'Nope, we had a very good pilot season. Thank you guys, you did well. You're on your own," Cranston told the SmartLess hosts. "We shot the pilot [for Breaking Bad] in February and March of 2007. So had we got that eighth season of Malcolm in the Middle, I would not have been available to shoot that pilot and someone else would be talking to you."
Having seen Cranston go full Heisenberg, it's impossible to imagine anyone else playing Walter White now. But it's safe to say that if he had never landed his guest appearance on The X-Files or Fox had decided to pick up Malcolm in the Middle for season 8, Breaking Bad would have been a different show entirely.
