The fourth season of the American

television drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

series '' Breaking Bad'' premiered on July 17, 2011 and concluded on October 9, 2011. It consists of 13 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length.

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

broadcast the fourth season on Sundays at 10:00 pm ET in the United States. The complete fourth season was released on Region 1 DVD and Region A Blu-ray on June 5, 2012.

Cast

Main

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–20 ...

Walter White Walter White most often refers to: * Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad'' * Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP Walter White may also refer to: Fictional characters ...

Anna Gunn Anna Gunn (born August 11, 1968) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Skyler White on the AMC drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a ...

as Skyler White *

Aaron Paul Aaron Paul (born Aaron Paul Sturtevant; August 27, 1979) is an American actor best known for portraying Jesse Pinkman in the AMC series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which he won several awards, including the Critics' Choice Television ...

as Jesse Pinkman *

Dean Norris Dean Joseph Norris (born April 8, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for playing DEA agent Hank Schrader on the AMC series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and its spin-off '' Better Call Saul'' (2020). He also portrayed town council ...

as Hank Schrader * Betsy Brandt as

Marie Schrader Marie Schrader (''née'' Lambert) is a fictional character in the AMC series '' Breaking Bad'' and its spin-off series ''Better Call Saul.'' Portrayed by Betsy Brandt, she is Skyler White's sister, Hank's wife, and Walter White's sister-in- ...

RJ Mitte Roy Frank "RJ" Mitte III (; born August 21, 1992) is an American actor, best known for playing Walter "Flynn" White Jr. on the AMC series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013). Like his character on the show, he has cerebral palsy. After moving to ...

as Walter White, Jr. * Bob Odenkirk as

Saul Goodman James Morgan Jimmy McGill, better known by his business name Saul Goodman, is a character created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the television franchise ''Breaking Bad''. He appears as a major character i ...

Giancarlo Esposito Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is best known for portraying Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series '' Breaking Bad'', from 2009 to 2011, and in its prequel series ''Better ...

as Gustavo "Gus" Fring *

Jonathan Banks Jonathan Ray Banks (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Chillum Heights, Maryland, while attending Indiana University Bloomington Banks did theatre. In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles where he be ...

as Mike Ehrmantraut

Recurring

Episodes

Production

On June 14, 2010, AMC announced that ''Breaking Bad'' was renewed for a fourth, 13-episode season. The writers began brainstorming and writing for the season in early July 2010. At the 2011 Television Critics Association press tour, it was announced production on the season would begin January 13, 2011. Filming ended in mid-June of that year. Although the writing staff knew the fourth season would focus primarily on the ongoing feud between Walter White and Gus Fring, they did not specifically plan out the entire season before production began, but rather developed the story as the episodes progressed. This followed a pattern similar to that of the third season and differed distinctly from the second season, where the entire storyline of the season was planned out in advance. Gilligan compared the fourth season to a "13-episode chess game" between Gus and Walt. Originally, mini episodes of four minutes in length were to be produced before the premiere of the fourth season, but these did not come to fruition. Actor

commented that the season would debut in July 2011 in an interview with ''New York Magazine'', he also said, regarding the premiere date, that "It was a decision from AMC that they wanted to position us in July... They want to attract as many eyeballs as possible, away from the heavy competition of the September, November rJanuary start."

Reception

Reviews

The fourth season of ''Breaking Bad'' received universal acclaim from critics, garnering a 96 out of 100 on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the fourth season has an approval rating of 100% based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 9.56/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "''Breaking Bad''s fourth season continues to evolve and subvert expectations, and it's never been more riveting to watch." ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' referred to the show as a "taut exercise in withheld disaster" and declared the show "riveting". The ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...

'' labelled the series "smart and thought provoking that elevates the artistic achievements of the medium". Season four was listed by many critics as one of the best seasons of television in 2011. ''Time'' listed Walter White's "I am the one who knocks" line as one of the best television lines of 2011. ''The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' listed it as the best series of 2011 while noting that, "''Breaking Bad'' is that rare TV series that has never made a seriously damaging storytelling misstep." ''The A.V. Clubs review of the finale summed it up as a "fantastically fitting end for a season that ran in slow motion, starting and continuing with so many crises begging for resolution week after week. Now the decks are cleared, but that doesn't mean anybody is home free. Nothing's ever easy on ''Breaking Bad''." The reviewer continued to exalt the season, and proclaimed, "What a season of television — truly something none of us could ever have expected, or claimed we deserved." Best-selling author

Noah Charney Noah Charney (born November 27, 1979) is an American art historian and novelist. He is the author of ''The Art Thief,'' a mystery novel about a series of thefts from European museums and churches, and is the founder of the Association for Res ...

called it "the best show on television" and compared it to great works of literature for its three-dimensional characters and combination of action, drama, and dark comedy.

Awards and nominations

The fourth season received numerous awards and nominations, including 13 Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

won the only award for the series, winning for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Its nominations included Outstanding Drama Series,

for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series,

for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series,

for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series,

Mark Margolis Mark Margolis (; born November 26, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alberto "The Shadow" in '' Scarface'', Antonio Nappa in '' Oz'', and Hector Salamanca in ''Breaking Bad'' and '' Better Call Saul''. His performance in ''Break ...

for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series,

Vince Gilligan George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is known for his television work, specifically as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of AMC's '' Breaking Bad'' (2008– ...

for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series ("Face Off"),

Michael Slovis Michael Slovis is an American cinematographer and television director. He is best known for his cinematography on the AMC series ''Breaking Bad.'' Career Slovis began his professional career in 1981. For many years, he worked as a camera operato ...

for Outstanding Cinematography for a One Hour Series ("Face Off"), and Kelley Dixon and

Skip Macdonald Skip Macdonald is an American film and television editor known for his work on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), its spin-off series ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022), and the 2019 sequel film '' El Camino''. He also edited several episodes for ...

each for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series ("End Times" and "Face Off"). "Face Off" was also nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing, Outstanding Sound Mixing, and Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role. Bryan Cranston received his second consecutive Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Cranston was also nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for the Screen Actors Guild Award, with the series nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Vince Gilligan received his first nomination for a

Directors Guild of America Award The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards. Catego ...

for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series for "Face Off". The series earned three nominations for the Writers Guild of America Awards, winning two; Best Drama Series and Best Episodic Drama (" Box Cutter"). At the

28th TCA Awards The nominees for the 28th TCA Awards were announced by the Television Critics Association on June 6, 2012. The winners were announced on July 28, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in a ceremony hosted by Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born ...

, the series was nominated for three awards, including Program of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Drama, and Individual Achievement in Drama (Cranston). It went on to win Outstanding Achievement in Drama. For the

2nd Critics' Choice Television Awards The 2nd Critics' Choice Television Awards ceremony, presented by the Broadcast Film Critics Association#Broadcast Television Journalists Association, Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA), honored the best in primetime television pro ...

, the series received five nominations for Best Drama Series, Best Actor in a Drama Series (Cranston), Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Giancarlo Esposito and Aaron Paul), and Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Anna Gunn), winning two; Best Actor in a Drama Series (Cranston) and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Esposito). The series also received two

Satellite Award The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

nominations for Best Drama Series and Best Actor in a Drama Series (Cranston), along with six Saturn Award nominations, including Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series, Best Actor on Television (Cranston), Best Supporting Actor on Television (Esposito and Paul), and Best Guest Performer on Television ( Steven Bauer and Mark Margolis), winning three; Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series, Best Actor on Television (Cranston), and Best Supporting Actor on Television (Paul). Kelley Dixon and

were each nominated for an Eddie Award for Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial Television. Dixon was nominated for "End Times" and MacDonald was nominated for "Face Off". MacDonald went on to win the award.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Breaking Bad (Season 4) 2011 American television seasons 4 Television series set in 2009