Breaking Bad

Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer at the beginning of the series. He turns to a life of crime, producing and selling methamphetamine with a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), with the aim of securing his family's financial future before he dies.

Premiering on January 20, 2008, the series is broadcast in the United States and Canada on the cable channel AMC, and is a production of Sony Pictures Television. On August 14, 2011, AMC announced that Breaking Bad had been renewed for a fifth and final season consisting of 16 episodes. This final season is split into two parts, each consisting of 8 episodes and broadcast over the course of two years; the first half premiered on July 15, 2012 and concluded on September 2, 2012, and the second half is scheduled to begin in summer 2013.

Breaking Bad has received widespread critical acclaim. The series has won seven Primetime Emmy Awards—including three consecutive wins for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Cranston, two wins for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Paul, and three nominations for Outstanding Drama Series. Cranston has also been nominated three times for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series: Drama and nominated four times for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series, which he won for the 19th Screen Actors Guild Awards.