Breaking Bad
Genre	Crime drama Thriller[1] Neo-Western[2][3] Black comedy[4] Tragedy[5][6]
Created by	Vince Gilligan
Showrunner	Vince Gilligan
Starring	Bryan Cranston Anna Gunn Aaron Paul Dean Norris Betsy Brandt RJ Mitte Giancarlo Esposito Bob Odenkirk Jonathan Banks Laura Fraser Jesse Plemons
Composer	Dave Porter
Country of origin	United States
Original languages	English Spanish
No. of seasons	5
No. of episodes	62 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Vince Gilligan Mark Johnson Michelle MacLaren
Producers	Stewart A. Lyons Sam Catlin John Shiban Peter Gould George Mastras Thomas Schnauz Melissa Bernstein Diane Mercer Bryan Cranston Moira Walley-Beckett Karen Moore Patty Lin
Production location	Albuquerque, New Mexico
Cinematography	Michael Slovis Reynaldo Villalobos Arthur Albert John Toll Nelson Cragg Marshall Adams
Editors	Kelley Dixon Skip Macdonald Chris McCaleb Sharidan Williams-Sotelo Lynne Willingham
Running time	43–58 minutes
Production companies	High Bridge Entertainment Gran Via Productions Sony Pictures Television
Budget	$3 million per episode
Original release
Network	AMC
Release	January 20, 2008 (2008-01-20) – September 29, 2013 (2013-09-29)
Related
Talking Bad Metástasis Better Call Saul El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Breaking Bad is an American crime drama and neo-Western television series created by Vince Gilligan for AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an overqualified high school chemistry teacher who, after being diagnosed with stage-three lung cancer, begins producing and selling methamphetamine with former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) to secure his family's financial future. The series also stars Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Giancarlo Esposito, Bob Odenkirk, and Jonathan Banks.

Breaking Bad premiered on AMC on January 20, 2008, and concluded on September 29, 2013, after five seasons and 62 episodes. Its first season received generally positive reviews, while later seasons, especially the fifth and final season, received widespread critical acclaim for the performances, writing, direction, cinematography, and character development. The series had modest viewership during its first three seasons, before viewership increased after it became available on Netflix prior to the fourth season. Viewership rose further during the second half of the final season in 2013, and the series finale became one of the most watched cable television episodes of its era.

Since its conclusion, Breaking Bad has been widely regarded by critics as one of the greatest television series of all time. It received numerous accolades, including 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Peabody Awards, and a 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. The series has continued to appear in retrospective rankings of the best television programs.

The series gave rise to the larger Breaking Bad franchise. Better Call Saul, a spin-off series centered on Odenkirk's character Saul Goodman, 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 selected theaters on October 11, 2019.