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
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Breaking Bad is an American neo-Western crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, an over-qualified, dispirited high-school chemistry teacher struggling with his recent diagnosis of stage-three lung cancer. White turns to a life of crime and partners with a former student, Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul, to produce and distribute methamphetamine in an effort to secure his family's financial future before he dies, all 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 and 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 significantly 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 accolades, 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 conducted by Rotten Tomatoes.

The series gave rise to the larger Breaking Bad franchise. Better Call Saul, a prequel/sequel 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.