Many people have proclaimed that the golden era of television came to an end when Succession ended with its fourth season in 2023. The HBO series about a wealthy family of misguided children fighting over their father’s business throne reminded people of the age of The Sopranos and Breaking Bad. All three prestige television series have earned their top spots on “best of television” lists for their character studies and brilliant storytelling. There’s also another tiny commonality that all three shows share: they all begin on birthdays.
Birthday episodes are sometimes the trickiest episodes to nail on television. If done wrong, they can reclaim a character’s lore and dramatically change the entire show’s timeline in a detrimental way. If done right, birthday episodes can set the stage for a powerful character arc over the entire series’ course. In the case of The Sopranos, Breaking Bad and Succession, they all accomplished the latter. The pilot episode of each of these series begins on a major character’s milestone birthday that oversees a wave of change trampling over the protagonist. Funny enough, by the end of each series, said character experiences the cycle of life when death comes knocking on their front door.
These Three Prestige TV Shows Begin on Milestone Birthdays
Birthdays represent a new chapter in a person’s life, for better or worse. Sometimes, it means becoming an adult or a teenager who will finally experience a taste of freedom and gain independence in one’s life. Other times, the mark of another year passing signifies the closer one is to death. For Breaking Bad, Walter White felt the latter case all too well in Season 1, Episode 1, “Pilot.” The pilot episode has everyone celebrating Walter’s birthday, except for Walter. When Walter’s 50th birthday comes around — a very significant event in one’s life — he feels nothing more than regret and lack of accomplishment.
His job as a chemistry teacher fails to fulfill him since he feels overqualified and underpaid. Having a part-time job at a car wash to make ends meet before his new baby arrives doesn’t instill any confidence either. The only thrill he had on his birthday was his brother-in-law, Hank Schrader, agreeing to let him take a ride-along on a drug bust. Breaking Bad is the only case of these three series where the catalyst birthday is of the protagonist. The Sopranos’ first birthday is for A.J. Soprano, the son of the complicated Mafia member Tony Soprano. A.J.’s 13th birthday splits the couple’s lives that Tony lives in New Jersey. In one life, he’s a feared member of the Mafia who’s acting as the underboss of the DiMeo crime family.
In another life, he’s a loving father who supports his children and acts as a father figure for his wife’s first cousin once removed, Christopher. Tony’s two children, Meadow and A.J., are his pride and joy. He goes through great lengths to enroll Meadow in the best college and brags about her to other people. A.J. might not be at the level of success Meadow is, but Tony still holds a protective umbrella over him. A.J.’s future journey as a troubled, underachieving teenager with depression is hard proof why his birthday could’ve been the only one to kick off the series. The age of 13 is the turning point for children to become teenagers, and specifically for A.J., a man like his father.
Succession takes a page out of The Sopranos’ book by kicking off with the birthday of a protagonist’s relative. While Succession has more of an ensemble cast than Breaking Bad and The Sopranos, Kendall Roy is the honorable protagonist. In Season 1, Episode 1, “Celebration,” he celebrates his father, Logan Roy’s, 80th birthday with his siblings. The event unites the siblings, who are all remarkable different in style and attitude. Kendall, the expected heir, spends the birthday sulking over his father staying as head of the company. Roman Laughs over his brother’s defeat and rips up a million dollar check in front of a child. Shiv, the only daughter, proudly promotes herself as the “one who got out” thanks to her political career. Finally, no one can forget about the half-brother Connor, who tries to impress his father, who is worth billions, with a sour starter.
