Bryan Cranston‘s performance as Walter White in Breaking Bad is something that, even more than a decade later, audiences are still enamored with. Much like James Gandolfini in The Sopranos, there is sometimes a role so intrinsically linked with a performer that it’s hard for audiences to ever see them as someone else. Understandably, this has made some of Cranston’s fans wary of watching him in any project since, as we grew to hate his “Heisenberg” so much by the time the series concluded. There is a series, though, that shouldn’t go overlooked, since it delivers yet another complex character for Cranston and is filled with nearly as much tension.
Inspired by the Israeli TV series Kvodo, Showtime unveiled Cranston’s Your Honor in December 2020, which also starred Isiah Whitlock Jr., Michael Stuhlbarg, and Hunter Doohan. The early seasons of Breaking Bad depicted Cranston’s White as an everyday family man, whose cancer diagnosis saw him go to great lengths to secure the resources his family would need when he died. The series spiraled into White becoming a drug kingpin, attempting to rule a world of organized crime.
Similarly, Your Honor showcases Cranston as New Orleans judge Michael Desiato, who would also do anything he could to protect his family. The problem, though, is that Desiato’s actions aren’t just illegal; they put him and his son in the crosshairs of a local mob boss.
Quick Decisions Bring Massive Consequences
In the series premiere of Your Honor, audiences see Michael as an empathetic judge who puts his own humanity at the forefront of all his cases. His teenage son Adam (Doohan) accidentally strikes a man on a motorcycle with his car on the anniversary of his own mother’s death, only for the teen to get overwhelmed and flee the scene. When he reveals to his father what he’s done, Michael takes him to the police station to do the right thing – however, upon arrival, Michael recognizes the father of the boy Adam killed as mob boss Jimmy Baxter (Stuhlbarg). Much like his son, Michael gets overwhelmed when he realizes his son has killed the son of one of the most dangerous men in New Orleans, and leaves the station to begin his efforts to cover up the incident.
As you can imagine, this is a messy situation for all parties involved. The audience empathizes with Adam and how a simple mistake took someone’s life, compromising his entire future. We can empathize with Michael’s decision to protect his son at all costs, even if it means betraying everything he stands for. We even empathize with Jimmy Baxter; despite the many horrible things he’s done as a mob boss, as it’s hard not to relate to the grief he experiences after losing his son tragically.
Crime, Conflict, and Compromises
Michael and Adam sit at the table in Your HonorShowtime
Your Honor was originally billed as a limited series, which made the events of the Season 1 finale hit that much harder, but the success of the series allowed for a Season 2, which tied up threads from that cliffhanger ending. Throughout both seasons, viewers will see Cranston fully embrace all the elements that made his Walter White such a compelling figure. From one scene to the next, we root for Michael and then are disgusted by the things he does. With each decision he makes, his morals drift much closer to what Jimmy Baxter is capable of, all while Jimmy shows more of his family-forward side.
With each season consisting of 10 episodes, it’s hard not to binge-watch the whole series in a weekend, especially as the inherent narrative compels us to click “next episode” as soon as the credits of that installment start to roll. Over the course of the whole series, audiences will witness all the gripping drama and tension we grew to love in Breaking Bad, with the series also never feeling like it’s merely trying to replicate Cranston’s greatest hits.
Your Honor is currently streaming on both Paramount+ and Netflix.