Breaking Barry: Aaron Paul's Surprising Connection to Malcolm In The Middle Explained - A Side-Splitting Gag from It's Always Sunny Season 16!

WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 5, "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab."

In It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 16, episode 5, titled "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab," the gang keeps mentioning Aaron Paul as the star of Malcolm in the Middle during his cameo. However, viewers may wonder if he was actually part of the sitcom. Breaking Bad stars Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston make a cameo appearance in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's season 16 episode "Celebrity Booze: The Ultimate Cash Grab," where they promote their real-life liquor brand, Dos Hombres. Interestingly, Breaking Bad is never mentioned in this episode, and the gang only associates Cranston and Paul with Malcolm in the Middle, the popular sitcom from the early 2000s.

Before gaining fame for his roles in Breaking Bad, earning an Oscar nomination, winning six Emmy Awards, and receiving two Tony wins, Bryan Cranston was best known for playing Hal, the immature yet well-meaning father on Malcolm in the Middle. Despite the fact that Breaking Bad is undoubtedly a more prestigious and culturally significant role in Cranston's career, the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia characters suggest that Malcolm in the Middle is the actor's true claim to fame. Furthermore, the gang consistently refers to Aaron Paul as "Malcolm" throughout the episode, which may lead to confusion regarding whether the actor who played Jesse Pinkman actually appeared in the family sitcom alongside Cranston before Breaking Bad.

The Gang Thinks Aaron Paul Is Malcolm In The Middle's Frankie Muniz In It's Always Sunny Season 16

The gang persistently calls him Malcolm, but Aaron Paul never actually appeared in Malcolm in the Middle. It seems that Charlie, Dennis, and Mac have confused Paul with actor Frankie Muniz, who played Cranston's character's son on the show for all seven seasons. Because Muniz and Paul are close in age, it's somewhat amusing that the gang would mix up Cranston's younger co-stars, especially since they don't know Aaron Paul or Bryan Cranston's names. Instead, they only refer to Paul as "Malcolm" and Cranston as either "Malcolm's dad" or "Mr. Middle."

The fact that the gang only knows Paul and Cranston from Malcolm in the Middle implies that they have never seen Breaking Bad and probably aren't even aware of its existence. Given that the gang were already in their late 20s when Malcolm in the Middle aired, their obsession with that sitcom and their ignorance of Breaking Bad is particularly ironic. However, once the gang kidnaps Cranston and Paul on Frank's private plane, they will hopefully correct their pop culture misconceptions.

Aaron Paul’s It’s Always Sunny Cameo Has Been 10 Years In The Making

Glenn Howerton, the actor who portrays Dennis Reynolds in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, shared in a 2014 AMA on Reddit that Aaron Paul almost had a guest appearance on the show during season 10. Howerton mentioned that Paul is a friend of the cast and has a fondness for the show, leading them to write a role specifically for him. Unfortunately, Paul was unable to make the cameo due to his commitments to filming the movie Need for Speed. However, after a decade, Paul finally made an appearance on the show in season 16, albeit as himself. While it's still intriguing to imagine the fictional character Paul would have portrayed in his unrealized cameo, his presence in season 16 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia was a satisfying addition.