During Breaking Bad’s eleven-month hiatus, fans anxiously awaited the airing of the final eight episodes. Complications have arisen with the showing of season five’s last episodes. Ohio resident Noam Lzenbik, a fan of BB, is suing Apple for false advertising. When Apple’s Breaking Bad Season Pass came out, the company advertised the pass as including “all current and future episodes.” Lzenbik bought his pass when AMC aired the first half of the season in 2012. His complaint is that the company is now saying customers must purchase a new Season Pass to watch the rest of the season.
Some argue that because Apple advertises the show’s fifth season as “Season 5” and “The Final Season”, the Season Pass policy is fair. Even the creators of the show identify the two halves separately as Season 5A and 5B. Another argument is that the popular BBC show Doctor Who splits its seasons, and Apple charges for each half separately. Despite those points, evidence is piling up in Lzenbik’s favor. AMC does not advertise only the second half as the final season. In fact, “AMC clearly stated: ‘The final season… consists of 16 episodes.’” Apple did also say that “purchasing a Season Pass gets you every episode in that season.”
If the ruling is in Lzenbik’s favor, he might not be the only one to benefit. He is trying to turn the case into a class-action lawsuit so that all Breaking Bad Season Pass buyers are compensated. Lzenbik argues that “when a consumer buys a ticket to a football game, he does not have to leave at halftime.” Just as sports spectators shouldn’t have to renew their ticket, television show fans should be able to watch a season they paid for in its entirety.
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