TV News: AMC Renews ‘Breaking Bad’ For Fifth, Final Season

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CHICAGO – AMC just announced that they have come to terms with creator Vince Gilligan to bring his smash hit and Emmy winner “Breaking Bad” back to the network for a 16-episode fifth season, which will also, as has been widely rumored, be the program’s last. Premiere date has yet to be determined for the Bryan Cranston drama but Charlie Collier, President of AMC, said production would start in early 2012, so it seems likely that the final season will be airing a year from now. The fourth season is currently underway.

Breaking Bad: Season Four Photo credit: AMC

The fourth season premiere of “Breaking Bad” premiered on Sunday, July 18th to series-high ratings. This critically-acclaimed season has continued to perform with overall ratings at 30% above season three and an amazing 45% more in the key demo of adults 18-34.

Collier said, “From the day we heard Vince Gilligan’s completely original vision for ‘Breaking Bad,’ it has been a complete joy to be involved with this show. Watching this story evolve into the complex, compelling, and intense roller coaster ride that it has become has been an incredible creative experience for everyone at AMC. Beyond that, working with Vince, his brilliant cast and crew, and our wonderful partners at Sony has been remarkable in every way. While it is sad to even contemplate the end of this series, we are so happy to have had the chance to go on this ride, and truly look forward to presenting the rest of this amazing story.

“It’s a funny irony — I’d hate to know the date of my own last day on earth, but I’m delighted to know what Walter White’s will be (episodically speaking). This is a great gift to me and to my wonderful writers. It’s knowledge which will allow us to properly build our story to a satisfying conclusion. Now, if we don’t manage to pull that off, we’ve got no one to blame but ourselves,” said Vince Gilligan. “‘Breaking Bad’ has been a dream job these past four years. Working with the best cast and crew in television has no doubt spoiled me for future projects. I’m lucky to get to work with them on sixteen more episodes, and I will always be grateful to both AMC and Sony Television, who from the beginning, believed in our show and supported me creatively and professionally. We have been able to take risks with ‘Breaking Bad’ which would not have been possible on other networks.”

From the official press release announcing the news:

“Breaking Bad” stars Emmy® Award-winner Bryan Cranston (“Malcolm in the Middle”) as Walter White; Emmy® Award-winner Aaron Paul (“Big Love”) as Jesse Pinkman; Anna Gunn (“Deadwood”) as Skyler White; Dean Norris (“Little Miss Sunshine”) as Hank Schrader; Betsy Brandt (“CSI”) as Marie Schrader; RJ Mitte (“Hannah Montana,” “Weeds”) as Walter, Jr; Bob Odenkirk (“Mr. Show with Bob and David”) as Saul Goodman; Giancarlo Esposito (“Gospel Hill”) as Gus Fring; and Jonathan Banks (“Wiseguy”) as Mike. “Breaking Bad” is filmed on location in Albuquerque, NM.

“Breaking Bad” has received sixteen Emmy® Award nominations in the following categories: “Outstanding Drama Series” (2009, 2010); “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series” for Bryan Cranston (2008, 2009, 2010); “Outstanding Supporting Actor” for Aaron Paul (2009, 2010); “Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series” for Vince Gilligan (2008) and Michelle MacLaren (2010); “Outstanding Cinematography for a one-hour series” for John Toll (2008) and Michael Slovis (2009, 2010); “Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series;” “Outstanding Single Picture Camera Editing for a Drama Series” for Lynne Willingham (2008, 2009) and Skip McDonald (2010); with six wins overall for Cranston (2008, 2009, 2010); Paul (2010); and Willingham (2008, 2009).

In 2008, the American Film Institute (AFI) included Breaking Bad on its list of the “Top 10 Programs” of the year. That same year, Vince Gilligan won the Writer’s Guild Award for his work on the pilot. ” In 2010, AFI recognized the show on its list again and that year the writers were also nominated for their exceptional work by the Writer’s Guild of America. In 2009 & 2010, the Producer’s Guild of America recognized the series with a Norman Felton nomination. In addition to his Emmy accolades, Cranston was nominated for a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award in 2011 and won a Television Critics Association (TCA) award in 2008 for his role on the series.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com