RJ Mitte, best known for playing Walter White Jr. on Breaking Bad, has died at 34, bringing renewed attention to the acclaimed crime drama. More than 13 years after its series finale, the show remains available on Netflix and continues to earn high marks from critics and viewers alike.
The Vince Gilligan-created series holds a 96% critics’ score and a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It also appears among the titles featured in Rotten Tomatoes’ guide to the best TV shows available on Netflix.
Mitte played the son of Bryan Cranston’s Walter White throughout the show’s five seasons. His performance was part of a story that transformed a seemingly ordinary chemistry teacher into one of television’s most notorious criminal figures.
RJ Mitte Played a Key Role in ‘Breaking Bad’
Mitte portrayed Walter White Jr., the teenage son of Walter and Skyler White, played by Anna Gunn. The character has cerebral palsy, as does Mitte in real life, and his presence gave the White family’s increasingly complicated story another dimension.
As Walter’s criminal activities escalated, the consequences reached far beyond his dealings with drug dealers and law enforcement. His double life threatened his marriage, his relationship with his children, and the future he had originally hoped to secure for his family.
Walter Jr. remained largely unaware of his father’s methamphetamine operation for much of the series, making the growing divide between the father he knew and the man Walter had become an important part of the family drama.
‘Breaking Bad’ Still Has Impressive Rotten Tomatoes Scores
The series’ reputation has hardly faded since its finale aired on September 29, 2013.
Breaking Bad currently holds a 96% Tomatometer score from critics and a 97% Popcornmeter score from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. The strong scores reflect the show’s broad appeal, from its tightly constructed crime story to the performances that brought its increasingly desperate characters to life.
Cranston’s portrayal of Walter White anchors the series, while Aaron Paul plays Jesse Pinkman, Walter’s former student and partner in the drug business. The cast also includes Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, Bob Odenkirk, and Giancarlo Esposito.
The series’ five seasons follow Walter’s transformation from a struggling high school teacher diagnosed with cancer into a powerful figure in the drug trade, inducing viewers to shout at their screens along the way. What begins as an attempt to provide for his family becomes a destructive pursuit of money, control, and recognition.
Why ‘Breaking Bad’ Is Such a Powerhouse
Many crime dramas build their stories around a central mystery or a case that needs to be solved. Breaking Bad takes a different approach by showing how a person changes when he gains power and begins convincing himself that increasingly extreme decisions are justified.
Walter’s transformation unfolds gradually, with each season pushing him further from the person he once was. Jesse’s struggles, Skyler’s growing suspicions, and the danger posed by figures like Gus Fring give the story consequences that extend well beyond Walt’s criminal operation.
The series also spawned a larger television and film universe. Better Call Saul explored the history of Odenkirk’s fan-favorite lawyer character, while the 2019 film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie continued Jesse Pinkman’s story after the original finale.
This story was originally published byMen’s Journalon Oct 13, 2026, where it first appeared in theEntertainmentsection. Add Men’s Journal as aPreferred
