‘Ozark’ comes from the mind of Bill Dubuque, the man who made films like ‘The Accountant’ and ‘The Judge’. It tells the interesting story of Marty Byrde, played by Jason Bateman. Marty is an accounting whiz who’s in bed with a Mexican cartel, as their money launderer. However, when his partner is caught stealing money from the Mexicans, things go south, and Marty has to use his brains to save his life and his family. 

Thus, the series moves to the quiet town by lake Ozark, where Marty hopes to turn his luck around, by becoming an angel investor. His plan is to pump the dirty cartel money into failing businesses around the lake – including a lodge and a strip club – and get the clean money out, sending it back to the cartel. However, soon as he arrives, he starts locking heads with the local troublemakers which would be the criminally inclined Langmores, and the druglords of the area, the Snells. 

Over the seasons, the drama unfolds in ‘Ozark’ and includes various facets, while the upcoming Season 4 promises political angles too since Marty tries to curry favour with a retired senator. However, at its core, ‘Ozark’ is bound to remind fans of ‘Breaking Bad’, which many have hailed as the best series to have graced the small screen. 

Structurally, both shows focus on an anti-hero who struggles to stay alive and keep his family safe while providing for them. However, the motivations are very different. While Walter White, or Heisenberg, trades his high school chemistry teacher’s job to become a meth kingpin in an attempt to pay for his cancer treatments, Marty has always sullied his hands laundering money for the cartel. 

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Further, a large part of Walter’s life is spent trying to keep his identity as a druglord secret from his family. However, in Marty’s case, not only does his wife know, but his kids find out almost immediately after the show begins. 

Despite the small ways that ‘Ozark’ diverts from the structural similarities with ‘Breaking Bad’, it ticks quite a few of the same boxes. Both Marty and Walter get cheated on, by their wives. While Walter’s reaction is open rage, Marty’s reaction is much more insidious, and some might say toxic. Walter confronts Ted in his office, and later there is an unfortunate incident involving his lawyer, Saul Goodman’s, men. On the other hand, Marty is not only aware of his wife’s affair, but also ends up mimicking her lover’s moves in bed, as a deliberate nod to his knowledge. 

However, the biggest point where ‘Ozark’ and ‘Breaking Bad’ touch base is the inherent tragedy that underlines the show. Just as we know that Walter’s choice to cook meth will eventually become his undoing, we realize that Marty’s choice to move to Ozark will spell eventual doom for his family. It becomes a disruption in the course of their lives, and Marty finds himself more deeply involved with the cartel. The moment he manages to launder the first eight million, he knows the remainder of the 500 million will have to be laundered as well. There’s no end in sight, just like Walter’s ambition knew no end until it came to a violent conclusion itself.

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It is undeniable that ‘Ozark’ follows on the heels of ‘Breaking Bad’, right down to the involvement with the cartel, a remarkable scene where the process of money laundering is explained, and the existence of a supporting character, who in their own way surpasses the lead. In Walter White’s case, this was Jesse Pinkman, while in Marty Byrde’s case, it is Ruth Langmore. While ‘Ozark’ Season 4 will be the final instalment of the show, we don’t know if Marty will face a similar fate. There have been some hints from the show’s creator that he might let the Byrde patriarch live, but only part 2 of the fourth season will conclude the matter for sure.