13 years after Breaking Bad ended, Bryan Cranston has the final word on viewers who hated Skyler White

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston has the final word on Skyler White hate after his Malcolm in the Middle co-star Frankie Muniz shared his unfavorable thoughts on the character.

Although he "loved Breaking Bad," Muniz said that he "wanted to kill Skyler to make [Walter's] life easier" during an appearance on Hot Ones Versus with Cranston. He added, "Your life would have been so much easier! You were such a bad guy, you could have just gotten rid of her. All she did was complain! Look at the money!"

Cranston instantly came to the defense of his on-screen wife. "Now, see, she got a lot of blowback from that," he replied. "Well, first of all, Anna Gunn is a superb actor, but she got, 'Oh, why don’t you get off his back?' Wait a minute. Let me understand this. Her husband leaves without any explanation, she’s pregnant, he’s making crystal methamphetamine and people have died. And she’s the bitch? Like, we couldn’t understand."

Skyler, pregnant when the show begins, sees her chemistry teacher husband hit with a terminal cancer diagnosis – before turning to making meth to secure his family's financial future at any cost. She proved to be a hugely unpopular character with some viewers of the show. In a tale as old as time, it seems audiences struggled to extend their sympathies for flawed, complicated characters as far as a woman…

Muniz and Cranston, meanwhile, recently re-teamed for the Malcolm in the Middle reboot Life's Still Unfair. Set almost 20 years after the end of the original show, Muniz's beleaguered middle child reunites with his estranged family at his parents' 40th wedding anniversary party.

Malcolm in the Middle: Life's Still Unfair is now streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus. For more on what's on the small screen, check out our guide to the best new TV shows still to come in 2026.