Shows like Breaking Bad: 8 picks for afterwards

After the finale of , many people sit in front of the screen wondering what could possibly come next. The good news: there are series that tell stories just as well. None of them is a copy, and that is a good thing. Here are eight, each with what connects it to Breaking Bad and what it does differently.

Better Call Saul

The connection: the same world, the same makers, some familiar characters. The difference: slower, quieter, more character drama than thriller. For many, the best continuation, even though it is set earlier. More in .

Ozark

The connection: a clever, actually harmless man in the grip of a cartel. The difference: at the centre is a family, not one person, and the tone is cooler. In detail in .

The Wire

The connection: the drug trade taken seriously, without heroes. The difference: The Wire does not follow one character but an entire city. Five seasons, 60 episodes, and each season takes on a different part of Baltimore: the street, the port, politics, the schools, the newspaper. Creator David Simon used to be a crime reporter, and it shows. The start is slow; after that, there is hardly anything comparable.

The Sopranos

The connection: a man who commits crimes and considers himself a good father while doing it. The difference: Tony Soprano is already at the top of the New Jersey mob when the series begins, and starts seeing a therapist because of panic attacks. James Gandolfini plays him across six seasons and 86 episodes. Many see The Sopranos as the start of television as we know it today.

Narcos

The connection: the rise of a drug empire. The difference: Narcos tells real history, mainly about Pablo Escobar in Colombia, from the perspective of American drug enforcement agents. Wagner Moura plays Escobar, and much of the dialogue is in Spanish. Three seasons, 30 episodes, fast-paced and with real archive footage in between.

Fargo

The connection: ordinary people who slide into deeper and deeper trouble after one bad decision. The difference: each of the five seasons tells its own story with new characters, all in the spirit of the Coen brothers' film of the same name. Dark humour, snow, polite people and sudden violence. You can start with any season; the first is a good way in.

Peaky Blinders

The connection: a man who wants to get his family to the top by any means. The difference: Birmingham after the First World War, a street gang, flat caps and rock music on the soundtrack. Cillian Murphy plays Tommy Shelby across six seasons. Stylistically bolder than Breaking Bad, narratively a little more straightforward.