Breaking Bad

''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an over-qualified, dispirited high-school chemistry teacher struggling with a recent diagnosis of stage-three lung cancer. White turns to a life of crime and partners with a former student, Jesse Pinkman ( Aaron Paul), to produce and distribute methamphetamine to secure his family's financial future before he dies, while navigating the dangers of the criminal underworld. The series also stars Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, RJ Mitte, Betsy Brandt, Giancarlo Esposito, Jonathan Banks, and Bob Odenkirk.

''Breaking Bad'' premiered on AMC on January 20, 2008, and concluded on September 29, 2013, after five seasons consisting of 62 episodes. ''Breaking Bad''s first season received generally positive reviews, while the subsequent seasons (especially the fifth and final season) received universal critical acclaim, with praise for the performances, direction, cinematography, writing, story, and character development. The show had fair viewership in its first three seasons, but the fourth and fifth seasons saw a moderate rise in viewership when it was made available on Netflix just before the fourth season premiere. Viewership increased exponentially upon the premiere of the second half of the fifth season in 2013. By the time that the series finale aired, it was among the most-watched cable shows on American television.

Since its conclusion, the show has been lauded by critics as one of the greatest television series of all time. It has also developed a cult following and has received numerous awards, including 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, 8 Satellite Awards, 2 Golden Globe Awards, 2 Peabody Awards, 2 Critics' Choice Awards, 4 Television Critics Association Awards and 1 British Academy Television Award. Cranston won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series four times, Paul won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series three times, and Gunn won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series twice. In 2013, ''Breaking Bad'' entered the ''Guinness World Records'' as the most critically acclaimed TV show of all time. In 2023, ''Breaking Bad'' was ranked as the best TV series in the last 25 years by critics in a poll conveyed by Rotten Tomatoes.

The series gave rise to the larger ''Breaking Bad'' franchise. ''Better Call Saul'', a prequel series featuring Odenkirk, Banks, and Esposito reprising their ''Breaking Bad'' roles, as well as many others in guest and recurring appearances, debuted on AMC on February 8, 2015, and concluded on August 15, 2022.'' El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,'' a sequel film starring Paul, was released on Netflix and in theaters on October 11, 2019.

Premise

''Breaking Bad'' follows Walter White, a struggling, frustrated high school chemistry teacher from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who becomes a crime lord in the local methamphetamine drug trade, driven to provide for his family financially after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Initially making only small batches of meth with his former student Jesse Pinkman in a rolling meth lab, Walter and Jesse eventually expand to make larger batches of an extremely pure, blue meth which creates high demand. Walter takes on the name " Heisenberg" to mask his identity. Because of his new business, Walter finds himself at odds with his family, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) through his brother-in-law Hank Schrader, the local gangs and the Mexican drug cartels (including their regional distributors), putting him and his family's lives at risk. The events of the series take place between 2008 and 2010.

Cast and characters

Main characters

* Bryan Cranston as Walter White, a high-school chemistry teacher who, shortly after his 50th birthday, is diagnosed with Stage III lung cancer and turns to making meth to secure his family's finances. As his shady business progresses, Walter gains a notorious reputation under the alias of "Heisenberg". Cranston stated that, though he enjoyed doing comedy, he decided he
* Anna Gunn as Skyler White, Walter's wife who was pregnant with their second child before his diagnosis and who becomes increasingly suspicious of her husband after he begins behaving in unfamiliar ways. Gunn sees Skyler as "grounded, tough, smart and driven". Gunn sees Skyler's stalled writing career as her biggest dream, saying, "I think she really deep down yearns to be an artist and to be creative and productive."
* Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman, Walter's cooking partner and former student. Paul sees Jesse as a funny kid. "He's just this lost soul – I don't think he's a bad kid, he just got mixed in the wrong crowd." Paul elaborated on the character's background, saying, "He doesn't come from an abusive, alcoholic background. But maybe he just didn't relate to his father, maybe his father was too strict and too proper for Jesse." Paul compared the character's relationship with Walt to '' The Odd Couple''.
* Dean Norris as Hank Schrader, Walter and Skyler's brother-in-law via his marriage to Skyler's sister, Marie. Hank is a DEA agent. At the beginning of the series, this character was intended to be the "comic relief".
* Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader, Skyler's sister and Hank's kleptomaniac wife. Brandt described Marie as "an unpleasant bitch", but also stated that there was more to her than that. "I think we're seeing more of it now that she would be there for her family. But it's all about her."
* RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr., Walter and Skyler's son, who has cerebral palsy. He begins lashing out after Walter's cancer announcement. Mitte himself has cerebral palsy, although his is a milder form. Mitte stated that he had to regress from his therapy to portray the character, staying up late into the night to slur his speech and learning to walk on crutches so that his walking would not look fake.
* Giancarlo Esposito as Gustavo "Gus" Fring (seasons 3–4; guest season 2), a Chilean high-level drug distributor who has a cover as an owner of the fast-food chain Los Pollos Hermanos. Esposito stated that for the third season, he incorporated his yoga training in his performance.
* Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman (seasons 3–5; recurring season 2), a crooked strip mall lawyer who represents Walt and Jesse. Odenkirk drew inspiration for Goodman from film producer Robert Evans.
* Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut (seasons 3–5; guest season 2), works for Gus as an all-purpose cleaner and hitman, and also works for Saul as a private investigator. The character of Mike has been compared to Harvey Keitel's Winston Wolfe character in ''Pulp Fiction'', which Banks says he is not trying to emulate: "I immediately tried to put it out of my mind, quite honestly. His cleaner ain't my cleaner. But throughout this world, you would suspect there had been a great many cleaners, whether government-run or individual contractors."
* Laura Fraser as Lydia Rodarte-Quayle (season 5), a high-ranking employee of Madrigal Electromotive and a former associate of Gus Fring. She reluctantly begins supplying Walt and Jesse with methylamine and helps Walt expand his operation overseas.
* Jesse Plemons as Todd Alquist (season 5), an employee of Vamonos Pest Control who becomes an associate of Walt and Jesse.

Recurring characters

* Steven Michael Quezada as Steven "Gomey" Gomez – Hank's DEA partner and best friend, who assists in tracking down and learning the identity of Heisenberg. In comical situations between him and Hank, Gomez serves as the "straight man".
* Matt Jones as Brandon "Badger" Mayhew – Jesse's drug-addicted, dimwitted friend who often serves as the series's comic relief.
* Charles Baker as Skinny Pete – A loyal friend of Jesse's and a fellow pusher who worked with Jesse.
* Rodney Rush as Christian "Combo" Ortega – Also a friend of Jesse and a fellow pusher.
* Jessica Hecht and Adam Godley as Gretchen and Elliott Schwartz – Co-owners of Gray Matter, a company that they co-founded alongside Walter, who left the business prior to its major success. Gretchen was a former flame of Walt's and partially the reason he left.
* Raymond Cruz as Tuco Salamanca – A sociopathic Mexican drug kingpin who becomes Walt and Jesse's meth distributor.
* Mark Margolis as Hector Salamanca – A former high-ranking member of the Juarez Cartel who is now unable to walk or speak because of a stroke, communicating with the help of a bell. He is the uncle of Tuco, Marco, and Leonel Salamanca.
* Christopher Cousins as Ted Beneke – Skyler's boss and president of Beneke Fabricators who begins developing financial problems, resulting in an intervention from Skyler.
* Krysten Ritter as Jane Margolis – Jesse's apartment manager and girlfriend, who is a recovering addict.
* John de Lancie as Donald Margolis – Jane Margolis's father, an air traffic controller.
* David Costabile as Gale Boetticher – A chemist hired by Gus Fring to work alongside Walter.
* Daniel Moncada and Luis Moncada as Leonel and Marco Salamanca – Two ruthless and taciturn hitmen for the Juarez Cartel who are the cousins of Tuco Salamanca and the nephews of Hector Salamanca.
* Javier Grajeda as Juan Bolsa – A high-ranking member of the Juarez Cartel who acts as the mediator between the Salamancas and Gus Fring.
* Emily Rios as Andrea Cantillo – Jesse's second girlfriend, who is also a recovering addict. She has a young son named Brock.
* Jeremiah Bitsui as Victor – A loyal henchman to Gus who serves as his enforcer along with Mike.
* Ray Campbell as Tyrus Kitt – Gus's enforcer along with Mike during season 4.
* Lavell Crawford as Huell Babineaux – Saul's bodyguard who also handles problems Walter needs fixing.
* Tina Parker as Francesca Liddy – Saul Goodman's receptionist.
* Bill Burr as Patrick Kuby – A hired con man of Saul's who handles various sensitive tasks involving verbal intimidation, coercion, and misdirection.
* Michael Bowen as Jack Welker – Todd's uncle and the leader of the Aryan Brotherhood, a white supremacist gang.
* Kevin Rankin as Kenny – Jack's second-in-command.

Special guest appearances

* Danny Trejo as Tortuga – A Mexican cartel member and DEA informant.
* DJ Qualls as Getz – An Albuquerque police officer who brings Badger into police custody, prompting Walt to turn to Saul Goodman.
* Jim Beaver as Lawson – An Albuquerque arms dealer who obtains several guns for Walt.
* Steven Bauer as Don Eladio Vuente – The leader of the Juarez Cartel who has a history with Gus.
* Robert Forster as Ed Galbraith – A vacuum cleaner repairman whose undercover business is a new identity specialist.
* Charlie Rose as himself.

Production

Conception

''Breaking Bad'' was created by Vince Gilligan, who had spent several years writing the Fox series ''The X-Files''. Gilligan wanted to create a series in which the protagonist became the antagonist

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases