The Bryan Cranston TV Series On Netflix That Has Everyone's Attention

In the age of streaming abundance, let there be no confusion — Netflix is still the undisputed king of the streaming game. The service has almost 280 million global subscribers, comfortably outpacing its closest competition, Prime Video, which has around 200 million subscribers, and remaining vastly ahead of its other competitors. This means that, for better or worse, Netflix has become the de facto winner of the streaming wars, and somewhat of a tastemaker in its own right. At the very least, it's the closest we'll get to the kind of monoculture we had back in the 90s when everyone was watching the same stuff. If a show or movie hits Netflix and manages to gain any traction, you can bet most people will be talking about it.

This has made things incredibly difficult for other companies trying to get a piece of the streaming action. So far, pretty much everyone else who's launched a streaming platform in the wake of Netflix's success has struggled to wring any profitability out of it. As such, we've seen companies start to bundle services, rebrand their platforms, pack their services full of ads, and generally steer streaming back towards the age of cable. Throughout this whole debacle, several actual vestiges of the cable era have endured, most notably HBO, which now exists in its own right and also as part of Warner Bros. Discovery's Max service.

But there's also little old Showtime, which is now Paramount+ with Showtime. Just as this tortured name change is another example of the industry contorting and mangling its various products to keep up with the streaming age, so too is the fact that one Showtime show has actually been given the Netflix stimulus package treatment.

Showtime might not come with quite as much prestige as HBO, but it was never far off, maintaining its reputation as one of the more trusted premium cable channels. In the past few years, it's continued to pump out some truly great stuff, most notably the uncompromisingly weird and savage satire "The Curse." Had this truly novel and brilliantly unhinged series been on Netflix, you can bet it would have created much more of a conversation than it did.

In the meantime, however, Showtime (sorry, Paramount+ with Showtime) has handed over another of its premium dramas to Netflix, and wouldn't you know, it's already more popular than it ever was before. That show is "Your Honor," which stars the great Bryan Cranston as New Orleans judge Michael Desiato. After finding out his own son is responsible for the hit-and-run death of a notorious mobster's son, Desiato is forced to compromise his own principles and the law itself to protect his loved one. Originally planned as a miniseries, "Your Honor" must have done well upon its 2020 debut, as it was renewed for a second and final season. Now, following its Netflix debut, the series has garnered even more attention, to the extent that the New York Times declared it "this summer's sleeper TV hit."

"Your Honor" actually hit Netflix back on May 31, 2024 and has, as the NY Times piece reveals, fared well ever since. It seems that momentum didn't show signs of slowing until very recently, either. For the week of July 15-21, 2024, the show managed to hit number seven on the Netflix charts, and, according to streaming viewership tracker FlixPatrol, was able to extend its run on the charts even further.

According to FlixPatrol, "Your Honor" remained in the Top 10 until July 24, 2024, only slipping out of the chart the following day. That's a remarkable run for the series, which has seemingly captured Netflixers since late-May and which ended its original Showtime run on March 19, 2023.

Bryan Cranston is gearing up not for a role but for a long romantic getaway with his wife, which will see the acclaimed actor taking an extended break from the profession in 2026. But before this mini retirement kicks in, Cranston will no doubt be delighted to witness the endurance his Showtime drama is displaying on Netflix. After all, it must have been slightly odd to go from the biggest show on TV with "Breaking Bad" to a humble Showtime series, and I'm sure Cranston is glad to see his lesser-known project getting more shine.

Does it matter that, as the success of Michael Fassbender flop "The Snowman" in 2023 proved, Netflixers will watch anything? Well, sort of, yeah. Netflix success is by no means an indication of quality. But unlike Kevin Hart's "Lift," which previously topped the streamer's charts, "Your Honor" is actually pretty good, and might well be worth your time. Now, let's hope Showtime hands over "The Curse" so the masses can truly have their minds blown.