The Breaking Bad timeline and franchise consists of two TV shows and a movie, but the timeline for each title is a bit tricky. All three projects were developed by Vince Gilligan for AMC, although El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie first debuted on Netflix. After Walt met his demise during Breaking Bad‘s ending in 2013, the franchise expanded with the spinoff prequel series based on Saul’s life when he was still known as Jimmy McGill, with some flash-forwards to Saul’s life after the events of Breaking Bad. Many other familiar faces from Breaking Bad also popped up in Better Call Saul.
Meanwhile, El Camino focused on Jesse after the events of Breaking Bad while also filling in many blanks left by the original series. When does Breaking Bad take place in relation to them? With Better Call Saul season 6, which deals heavily with Saul’s future, recently completing on AMC and arriving on Netflix, the timeline between the three titles is very important to stay on top of. In order to keep track of the tumultuous events, here’s a breakdown of the entire chronological Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul timeline, including El Camino.
The Complete Vince Gilligan Breaking Bad Universe Timeline
Breaking Bad sits in the center of Vince Gilligan’s decade-long Albequerque saga, with Better Call Saul operating as a prequel to the story and El Camino taking place afterward. However, the Breaking Bad timeline is slightly more complicated than a simple trilogy. Better Call Saul and El Camino both contain scenes that take place during the events of Breaking Bad and provide additional context.
In addition to these interstitial scenes, Better Call Saul also contains flash-forward scenes set following the events of Breaking Bad. These events take place over a number of months in late 2010, while El Camino only takes place over a day or so, meaning that the Better Call Saul timeline contains both the first and last chronological moments of the Breaking Bad universe. While there are brief flashbacks to earlier periods, the main action in these three titles takes place over nine years in the 2000s:
- 2002: Better Call Saul seasons 1 to 3, featuring Jimmy McGill’s struggles staying on the straight and narrow and the beginning of Mike’s association with Gus.
- 2003: Better Call Saul season 4, including the beginning of Jimmy’s tenure as Saul Goodman and Gus’s construction of the meth super-lab.
- 2004: Better Call Saul season 5 and most of season 6, culminating in the deaths of Howard Hamlin and Lalo Salamanca.
- 2005-7: The period between Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad. Saul, Mike, and Gus continue to build their underworld careers.
- 2008: Breaking Bad seasons 1 and 2, with Walter White’s introduction to the world of crime and first meeting with Gus.
- 2009: The air collision at the end of Breaking Bad, followed by the events of seasons 3 to 5A, including Walt’s war with Gus.
- 2010: The final events of Breaking Bad, followed by the movie El Camino and the black and white sequences from Better Call Saul.
Better Call Saul’s Timeline Explained
Better Call Saul is a prequel primarily set in the years before when Breaking Bad does take place. The series continues to focus on how Jimmy McGill fully transformed into big-time conman Saul Goodman, who gets swept up in Walter White’s drug operations. When Better Call Saul begins, the narrative is set in May 2002, a time when Jimmy was struggling financially as a public defender. After trying to get revenge on a potential client, Jimmy encounters Nacho Varga and the Salamanca crime family. Around the same time, Mike Ehrmantraut gets involved with the Salamancas. The entire first season is only set over two months.
Better Call Saul season 2 still takes place in 2002, from July to September. Jimmy is working as a lawyer for Davis & Main at the recommendation of Kim Wexler, who’s absent from Breaking Bad‘s timeline, but the gig doesn’t last long. The pair later team up for their own private practice while Jimmy manipulates his brother to benefit his own work. That is, until Chuck McGill takes his own life and Jimmy loses his law license. Gus Fring finally enters the picture in Better Call Saul season 3, which is initially set in September 2002.
Flashbacks fill in some blanks left in Gus’ backstory, while in the present Better Call Saul timeline, he assists Mike in laundering money while vying to take over from the Salamanca family. The entire season spans six months. Better Call Saul season 4 picks up just after the events of the previous season. Without a law license, Jimmy works at a cell phone store but eventually gets another chance at being a lawyer due to a successful appeal. He, then, decides to practice law as Saul Goodman.
Meanwhile, Gus’ meth superlab begins construction underneath the laundry facility. The season features a nine-month time jump bringing the storyline to early 2004. Better Call Saul season 5 is in 2004, as is season 6, over four years before the events of Breaking Bad ended. However, there are black-and-white flash-forwards to 2010 – Jimmy McGill’s Gene Cinnabon scenes where Jimmy lives incognito as a fast food manager. This time period comes to encompass the final episodes of Better Call Saul, culminating in Jimmy receiving a jail sentence that will presumably see him die behind bars. Alongside El Camino‘s ending, the Better Call Saul finale is the chronological ending of the Breaking Bad timeline – in the year 2010.
Breaking Bad’s Timeline Explained
So when does Breaking Bad take place compared to Better Call Saul? Breaking Bad debuted in 2008 and was set within the same year. It begins in September 2008 when science teacher Walter White celebrates his 50th birthday while also learning about his cancer diagnosis. A few weeks later, he makes his first kill stemming from his new meth operation with partner Jesse. Season 2 picks just where the debut season ends in November 2008. Walt is now known as Heisenberg and gets assistance from Saul to connect with Gus. When the season ends, the setting is early 2009, which features the plane crash over Albuquerque.
Similar to season 1 in terms of length in the timeline, Breaking Bad season 3 also takes place over just two months. Skyler learns about her husband’s meth business around the time Walt is hired by Gus to cook in the superlab. When Breaking Bad season 4 picks up, it’s mid-April 2009 and Walt’s working relationship with Gus starts to go south very quickly. Over four months, Gus cuts Walt from the business. Walt and Skyler then turn to Saul to find a way to launder their money. By the end of the season, Walt finally carries out a successful plan to take out Gus once and for all.
Breaking Bad season 5 was split into two segments when AMC broadcast the episodes. The season as a whole also encompasses a large portion of the timeline. Between July 2009 and March 2010, which occurs in season 5A, Walt, Jesse, and Mike start a new meth business. Walt ends up killing Mike and aligns with Todd Alquist and Jack Welker’s gang which turns out to be a terrible choice. In the final moments of the midseason finale, Hank figures out that Walt is Heisenberg.
The second half of Breaking Bad season 5 continues where the previous episodes left off with a few flashforwards mixed in. As Hank goes after Walter White, his family learns about Heisenberg and fully falls apart. Hank is then killed by Jack’s men, Jesse is taken hostage, and Walt’s only option is to leave his family before hiding out in New Hampshire. Six months go by until Walt’s 52nd birthday when he decides to tie up loose ends since he is once again dying of cancer. The series’ timeline concluded on September 7, 2010, when Walt ambushes Jack’s compound, killing the men and allowing Jesse to escape captivity before dying from a gunshot wound.
El Camino’s Timeline Explained
When Jesse is freed from the compound at the end of the Breaking Bad timeline, he steals Todd’s car and speeds away, leading instantly into when El Camino takes place. El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie picks up just moments later while Jesse flees before ending up at Skinny Pete’s house. The story is still set in early September 2010 despite the fact the movie was released in 2019, nearly a decade after Breaking Bad ended. In his final timeline appearance, Jesse fights to acquire enough money to pay Ed Galbraith for a new identity and relocation.
The El Camino movie also features several flashbacks, including one in 2008 when Jesse and Walter first started cooking meth. There are also appearances by Mike, Jane, and Todd in the form of flashbacks to share more of Jesse’s complicated past. When Jesse finally pays Ed for his services, about two weeks pass until he’s safely brought to Alaska to start a new life. This places the end of Jesse’s story in September 2010, a few months prior to Jimmy McGill’s arrest in Better Call Saul.
Vince Gilligan Has Confirmed That The Breaking Bad Timeline Is Done
Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad timeline after Better Call Saul and El Camino is concluded both narratively and practically, despite their success, and Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan has confirmed that he’s done making stories in the acclaimed universe. Gilligan (via Deadline) made it clear that he want to pursue new projects outside the AMC shared universe he created — “You can’t keep putting all your money on red 21,” explains Gilligan.
However, Gilligan’s departure from the Breaking Bad universe doesn’t necessarily mean it’s done for good – but his vision of the timeline is concluded. Unlike Gilligan, AMC has indicated they’re open to more Breaking Bad spin-offs. Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios at AMC Networks, has made his feelings on potential Breaking Bad projects clear.
“I can tell you that if I could do anything to encourage Vince and Peter to continue on in this universe, I would do it,” McDermott said in a 2022 interview (via Variety). It’s unsurprising considering how successful Better Call Saul and El Camino have been, not to mention how much speculation there is around other stories that delve into the histories of supporting Breaking Bad characters like Gus Fring. Indeed, many franchises have continued after their creator parted ways with the IP.
George Lucas and Star Wars is the best-known example, but Breaking Bad’s fellow AMC show The Walking Dead continued after original showrunner Frank Darabont parted ways with the project after season 1. Depending on who owns story rights, AMC could well create new Breaking Bad spin-offs and extend the timeline without Vince Gilligan’s involvement – but it’d never really be the same.
How The Breaking Bad Timeline Could Expand Without Vince Gilligan
For now, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Bryan Cranston, and Bob Odenkirk seem to be done with the Breaking Bad universe as they move on to other projects. That said, the Breaking Bad timeline and universe have become such a definitive part of the crime genre, that not only are long-time viewers clamoring for more, there’s no shortage of stories and characters for any new series or movie to draw from. In particular, one story that hasn’t been deeply tackled by either Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul is Gus Fring’s origin, which opens the door for Gus and Max’s love story and the evolution of Gus as a criminal warlord.
An even bolder move would be to expand the Breaking Bad timeline beyond its chronological ending and focus on fan favorite Kim Wexler, showing what happens to Saul Goodman’s better half as she once again attempts to live a mundane life and suppress her natural instincts for the game. Indeed, Vince Gilligan’s antihero crime saga, at its core, is about extremely relatable high-level criminals wrestling with the repercussions of their terrible life choices. However, for any expansion to the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul timeline to actually happen, both the creator and the concept must perfectly fit Gilligan’s universe for audiences to even sign off on the idea, and therein lies the challenge.
