Breaking Bad Meets Boy World Meets World In Spinoff Episode Designed To “Piss Disney Off”

Published Sep 13, 2026, 3:10 PM EDT Hannah Gearan (she/her) is has been writing for ScreenRant for over three years. Her deep cinema love traces back to age 11, when she equipped herself with a spiral-bound notebook, rated all the films she watched, and declared herself a critic. About a decade later, she received a BA from Wesleyan University, where she studied Film, Environmental Studies, and Writing. Hannah’s short film, Toxic Faucets, has screened at numerous film festivals, including the Independent Film Festival of Boston (IFFBoston). As a Movie News writer now, she draws upon her vast experience studying, making, and analyzing film as she approaches dynamic breaking stories. Girl Meets World may have been a sweet spinoff, but one scrapped storyline was a direct homage to Breaking Bad. Mothership series Boy Meets World was a beloved show throughout the '90s. Starring Ben Savage, Rider Strong, William Daniels, and Danielle Fishel, the coming-of-age story centered around the life of Cory Matthews and his siblings and friends. Over a decade later, Disney Channel followed this up with the spinoff Girl Meets World, which followed Ben and Topanga's children. The series saw Savage, Strong, and Fishel return to their roles, alongside franchise newcomers Rowan Blanchard and a young Sabrina Carpenter. In an episode of Pod Meets World, Strong revealed that one Girl Meets World episode was intentionally provocative in its initial version. In a season 1 episode, the writers penned a story where "they made blue cupcakes with a blue dye and all the kids get addicted to it." Strong directly connected this to Breaking Bad, but revealed there was not much chance of this version making the final cut. Check out his full quote below: “Remember in Breaking Bad where he makes a blue meth? They did that where they made blue cupcakes with a blue dye and all the kids get addicted to it. And it was one of the funniest table reads. And I remember I turned to [showrunner] Michael [Jacobs] and he’s like, ‘Oh, we just did this to piss Disney off. They’re never gonna let us do it.’” In the end, the showrunner's assumption was correct: Disney would not let this storyline pass. However, the episode's concept did not get completely destroyed, as in the season 1 episode "Girl Meets Crazy Hat," Riley and Farkle serve as co-chefs for a school assignment, and wind up getting their classmates hooked on pure sugar muffins. It was not quite blue dye, so the Breaking Bad connection may have been lost, but the essence of the plot remained. The thinly veiled drug reference was not the only reason that Disney had an issue with the storyline, however. In the same conversation, Fishel added that "Disney cares a lot about in their scripts is not showing too many unhealthy activities or treats," and have strict guidelines as it relates to food-relevant storylines. As such, this episode delved into dicey territory even regardless of those references. Fishel elaborates below: “One of the things that Disney cares a lot about in their scripts is not showing too many unhealthy activities or treats. So they want food to be healthy. They want it to be balanced. They’re okay with a treat here and there, but they definitely don’t want an entire episode where somebody’s, you know, gorging themselves on sweets.” The blue of Walter White's illicit lab substances may seem a bit outdated now, but this would have been a more timely reference at the time this script was being written. "Girl Meets Crazy Hat" was season 1, episode 10, eventually airing in September 2014. The Breaking Bad finale had aired in September 2013, just one year prior. The writers would likely have been writing alongside the airing of Breaking Bad season 5, and the show would have been fresh in the audience's minds. This is even more reason why Disney would have cracked down on the meth allusion in that year. While the Girl Meets World and Breaking Bad audience Venn diagram is limited, parents who might be watching TV with their children would be very aware of the Bryan Cranston-led masterpiece. As a result, Disney could not risk messing around with a plot line that would infuriate so many just for the sake of one goofy homage.