The Breaking Bad 'Cameo' That's Either A Hilarious Meta-Joke Or A Major Mistake

"Breaking Bad" is the kind of series that will live on in the conversation of legendary television shows for decades to come. While one of the most distinguishing elements of the AMC crime drama is its riveting performances from the likes of Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Giancarlo Esposito, and Jonathan Banks, the series is also filled with memorable guest stars throughout its five seasons.

Krysten Ritter, Jim Beaver, Jesse Plemons, and Robert Forster are just a few of the recurring actors who made an impact during their time on "Breaking Bad." Still, it's the series' most unexpected cameo that Empire Senior Designer Olly Gibbs noticed while rewatching the show. Gibbs shared his discovery of a DVD case for the series in a shot he posted to X (formerly Twitter).

The shot appears in Season 5, Episode 12 ("Rabid Dog"), when Jesse (Paul) is in Hank's (Dean Norris) house, speaking to Hank and Steve (Steven Michael Quezada) about trying to catch Walter White (Cranston) red-handed once and for all. As you can see, it clearly shows a "Breaking Bad" DVD on the far left hand of the screen. Though it can be hard to see which season it is, a closer look suggests that it's from Season 3.

This would hardly be the most egregious continuity slip in a world where the infamous "Game of Thrones" coffee cup gaffe exists. Still, considering "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan's penchant for hiding tiny details in the show's episodes and seeing if anyone will notice has to make fans wonder whether it was really a mistake at all or whether it was done on purpose.

Obviously, barring interdimensional travel, a "Breaking Bad" DVD can't really exist in the New Mexico crime drama, but someone had to put together the shooting location of Hank and Marie's (Betsy Brandt) house. After all, if you watch the scene in question, you'll notice other key details like a purple rug (purple is Marie's favorite color), showing that there was clearly attention being paid while laying out the room.

All the same, with no official comments from the cast and crew of "Breaking Bad" about the gaffe, viewers can't really know for sure whether the DVD was included by accident or if it was just left there by a crewmember as a tiny prank. Either way, the fact that a show scored a cameo of itself in its final season is definitely a fun little bit of trivia for fans to mull over.