Jon Hamm says he doesn’t want Your Friends & Neighbors to end up like Breaking Bad – Here’s why

Apple TV+’s Your Friends & Neighbors has been able to acquire a dedicated fan base in a short time. Starring Jon Hamm in the lead, the show tells the story of Coop, a hedge fund manager, who chooses a path of crime after losing his job and getting divorced from his wife.

While the show has an impressive premise, some critics and audience members have compared it to Breaking Bad, where Walter White walks down a criminal path to make ends meet after being diagnosed with cancer. Jon Hamm, however, has made sure that Your Friends & Neighbors has its own journey and will not turn into Breaking Bad.

Following the conclusion of Season 1 of the Apple TV+ series, the actor had an interview with Collider, where he stated that Coop is not going to become a criminal mastermind like Walter White in future seasons, and instead, will stick to thievery to put on the facade of having a fancy lifestyle:

“We don’t want this to turn into a Breaking Bad scenario where Coop turns into a criminal mastermind and runs an empire. We knew that, at the end of the day, the particularities of his choice to go into thievery would probably also have to dovetail with his maintaining a life that is presentable in this world. I think we did a very nice job of balancing those two necessities.”

Jon Hamm talks about how Coop in Your Friends & Neighbors will not follow the same path as Walter White from Breaking Bad

In Breaking Bad, Walter White’s motive for becoming a criminal boss was not as simple. He started making drugs to ensure a stable lifestyle for his family after he died of cancer. However, as the show progressed, he began to enjoy the journey as he was not an ordinary man anymore. The motive then became much more than just earning money.

On the other hand, in Your Friends & Neighbors, Andrew "Coop" Cooper is fired from his job, and his wife decides to file for divorce from him. Coop lives in an affluent neighborhood where he has to maintain a lavish lifestyle.

That is why he starts stealing from his neighbors, and as per Jon Hamm’s comments, he is going to adhere to stealing only, and has no intention of turning into a crime lord. During his interview, Hamm further talked about how Your Friends & Neighbors is relevant to today’s time as it comments on the themes of capitalism and rapid consumerism:

“It’s more a commentary on where we are as a society and where we are as a culture right now with rapid consumerism and late-stage capitalism and so many things that we’re all dealing with.”

Created by Jonathan Tropper, Your Friends & Neighbors also stars Olivia Munn as Sam Levitt, Amanda Peet as Mel Cooper, Lena Hall as Ali Cooper, Mark Tallman as Nick Brandes, Hoon Lee as Barney Choi, and Aimee Carrero as Elena.

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The rest of the cast includes Donovan Colan as Hunter Cooper, Isabel Marie Gravitt as Tori Cooper, and Eunice Bae as Grace Choi. The show has already been renewed for a second season, which will continue to explore Coop’s life and thefts.

Your Friends & Neighbors is available to stream on Apple TV+.

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