Summary
Your Honorwas Bryan Cranston’s highly anticipated television follow-up toBreaking Bad, but the series did not even come close to matching the latter’s quality. AfterBreaking Badwrapped, Cranston could seemingly do no wrong, having dedicated 62 episodes and five seasons to one of the greatest television series ever made and making Walter White one of television’s most iconic and profound anti-heroes.Cranston starred in a few movies afterBreaking Badended, such as 2014’sGodzilla, 2015’sTrumbo, and 2016’sKung Fu Panda 3and Why Him?, and had a recurring role inSneaky Pete.
Your Honorwas expected to mark Cranston’s celebrated return to starring in a television series that had many people calling itBreaking Bad’sreplacementin a way. However, after two lackluster seasons that resulted in the series earning just a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes,Your Honorwas not picked up for a season 3.The series was created by Peter Moffat, who was behind the celebrated HBO limited seriesThe Night Ofstarring Riz Ahmed and John Turturro. Outside of Cranston’s leading role,Your Honor’scastconsisted of Hope Davis, Michael Stuhlbarg, Lilli Kay, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Where to Watch Your Honor
Learn where to watch Your Honor, which sees Bryan Cranston portraying a judge forced to abandon the legal system to protect his son.
Your Honor Was Criticized For Its Derivative Storyline & Writing
Your Honor’sstorytelling failed to deliver
Despite Cranston giving a great performance as Michael Desiato, a respected judge who gets wrapped up in a world of organized crime through a mistake by his son,Your Honorfailed to deliver on the storytelling front. BecauseBreaking Badwas so rich in its storytelling thanks to the brilliance of Vince Gilligan and other writers such as Moira Walley-Beckett and Peter Gould, expectations were sky-high forYour Honorand the series simply fell flat. After a strong and compelling premiere episode,the series struggled to find its footing throughout its first seasonand was unable to gain consistent momentum in its narrative.
Ben Travers ofIndieWirewrote in his review ofYour Honorseason 1, “It feels like we’re wallowing in misery that no one has to go through, and the effect isn’t thrilling but dreadful. Perhaps later episodes will find stronger footing, but for now, don’t worry about it.” Dan Feinberg ofThe Hollywood Reporternoted, “The series struggles to give us an anchor for who or what Michael Desiato’s character was before the series' inciting event.” James Poniewozik ofThe New York Timesshared similar sentiments, writing, “The characters feel like stock illustrations in a moral-philosophy seminar hypothetical… The result is an out-of-whack ratio of acting talent to material.”
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Your Honor Was Frequently Compared Unfavorably To Bryan Cranston’s Breaking Bad
Any television series starring Bryan Cranston after 2013 was bound to be inevitably compared toBreaking Bad, which certainly added another layer of pressure and criticism forYour Honor. While the vast majority of television series belong in the category of being worse thanBreaking Bad, critics and fans both set the bar high for Cranston’s follow-up, which is likely whyit took him seven years to take on a leading role in a new drama series. While the comparisons ofYour HonortoBreaking Badare fundamentally unfair, they don’t have much to do with why the show was dropped after two seasons.
Walter White became such a monumental figure in television that it’s difficult to see Cranston in any project nowadays and not immediately go back to his masterful performance inBreaking Bad. In a sense,Walter White has become such a landmark in television historythat Cranston can’t ever really escape it. Fortunately for him, as Walter descended into the cold-bloodied Heisenberg and continued to don his classic bald profile, he started to look less and less like Cranston in other roles, which is partly why his performance is so transcendent. Still, even Cranston’s next leading role in a drama series, which has yet to be announced, will drawBreaking Badcomparisons.
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Why Your Honor Season 2 Was Such A Big Improvement From Season 1
Your Honor season 2 tried to make good use of its stellar cast
Your Honorseason 2 received more critical acclaim than season 1 did, earning a 67% and a Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics mostly agreed that even thoughYour Honorseason 2 was nearly as unrefined and underwhelming as season 1,it was still entertaining in disjointed parts and was overall an improvementfrom the first season. The additional praise was not enough for Showtime to pick the series up for season 3, making “Part Twenty” which aired on June 14, 2025, the unintentional series finale.Your Honorhad the ingredients to become something great but even with Cranston’s efforts, it ultimately couldn’t make the cut.
