Breaking Bad has nabbed four Emmy nominations for its debut season -- including recognition for Bryan Cranston as lead actor in a drama series -- as AMC garnered the most nominations of any basic cable network.

The drama, renewed for a second season, is also honored for Outstanding Cinematography for a One Hour Series (for Director of Photography John Toll), Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (for the show's creator Vince Gilligan) and Outstanding Single-camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series (for Editor Lynne Willingham).

"This is a milestone moment for AMC. To be considered among the best on television by the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences for the network's original series, Mad Men and Breaking Bad, is a truly distinct honor," says Charlie Collier, AMC's General Manager and Executive Vice President.

"We congratulate Vince Gilligan on Breaking Bad's nominations and Bryan Cranston for his incredible performance, earning him his first Emmy nomination as a Lead Actor in the Drama category."

Cranston is up against Jon Hamm of AMC's Mad Men, Boston Legal's James Spader (last year's winner), Dexter's Michael C. Hall, House's Hugh Laurie and In Treatment's Gabriel Byrne.

The 60th annual Emmy awards ceremony will air on Sunday, September 21.

Continue reading "Breaking Bad Nabs 4 Emmy Nominations" »

As part of their Road to the Emmy's coverage, Variety's Robert Abele focuses on one of Breaking Bad's leading contenders, Bryan Cranston. "Not many series' protagonists start with a death sentence such as lung cancer and then further threaten their lives by getting involved with violent drug dealers and lawbreaking," writes Abele. "With this character, humor comes from a different place," adds Cranston, who clearly has left his Malcolm in the Middle days behind him.

To help establish his character as a "physical specimen of life-beaten suburban anomie," Cranston tells Variety he had some help from the make-up department. "I wanted a mustache that made me feel impotent when I looked in the mirror, and I sure got it." His favorite thing about Walt? "His humanity. He's the ultimate human being, with good points and frailties."

Continue reading "Variety Says Bryan Cranston Could Win an Emmy" »

When Breaking Bad premiered this January, it was an instant hit with critics across the country. Five months later, the show finds itself nominated for Outstanding New Program by the Television Critics Association. The other nominees are HBO's Flight of the Conchords, FX's Damages, ABC's Pushing Daisies, and AMC's own Mad Men..

The winner wil be chosen by the association's 200-plus critics and journalists later this summer and will be announced in a ceremony at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Saturday, July 19

AMC announced yesterday that it will renew Breaking Bad for a second season. 

"From critical praise to strong ratings and a devoted audience, Breaking Bad further reinforced AMC as a top producer of high-quality, distinctive television," said Charlie Collier, Executive Vice President and General Manager of AMC. "Breaking Bad is a powerful, intelligent and thought-provoking series that clearly resonated with viewers and critics alike. We're excited for a second season of Breaking Bad with new and provocative storylines that will delve deeper into the next chapter in the life of Walter White." The second season, unlike the first which ran a brief seven episodes due to the writer's strike, will consist of thirteen episodes, the same number as Mad Men's Season 1 and upcoming Season 2. 

Call her Jesse's girl. "Pamala," a Michigan housewife who hosts an enthusiastic Breaking Bad blog, has a soft spot for Walt's meth partner Jesse, a boy she thinks a little maternal affection would turn right around. "I adore Jesse," she confesses. "I'd probably be his mother if I could. I'd get in there and take care of that boy."

A longtime Vince Gilligan fan who hosted live Internet chats about The X-Files in the 1990s, Pamala says she was "immediately floored by Breaking Bad. I just had to start a blog." As is her habit with her favorite TV dramas, Pamala has long conversations with Jesse and other characters. "They never listen," she admits, but that doesn't stop her from offering advice on her blog. "It's therapeutic. I enjoy it immensely."

Continue reading "Site of the Week: Breaking Bad With "Pamala"" »

Are you eager to see more of the characters from Breaking Bad? Well, here's your chance to at least catch up with the actors who portray them. 

Bryan Cranston: Most famous for his role as Hal in Malcolm in the Middle, the versatile character actor has a long resume stretching back to his first role his first small screen role in CHiPS in 1982. His career highlights include a recurring role as a dentist on Seinfeld, a one armed Colonel in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, and as Buzz Aldrin in HBO's From the Earth to the Moon. Cranston is currently filming Love Ranch, Taylor Hackford's drama about the couple that opened the first legal brothel in Nevada. Cranston will be playing a senator who gets entangled in the couple's controversial affairs. Click here to read Bryan Cranston's bio.

Aaron Paul: Breaking Bad's Jesse has been appearing in film and television roles since 1998; his most notable recent appearance prior to Breaking Bad was a recurring part in the second season of HBO's Big Love. You can also catch Paul in two films set for release later this year: John Mallory Asher's horror film Twisted and David VonAllmen's comedy Say Goodnight. Click here to read Aaron Paul's bio.

Continue reading "The Breaking Bad Cast: Before and After" »

Six episodes into it's first season the critics continue to praise Breaking Bad. In an article for the San Francisco Chronicle, critic Tim Goodman focuses on three different series that exemplify great television: AMC's Breaking Bad, ABC's Lost, and HBO's The Wire.

What stands out for Goodman about Breaking Bad is its creative risks. "The innate greatness of Breaking Bad is that it's almost as if two artists and a cable channel simultaneously decided to achieve something brilliant," he says then goes on praise creator Vince Gilligan and star Bryan Cranston in particular.

Keeping the show in the news, Entertainment Weekly put Breaking Bad on it's "Must List" of "Ten Things We Love This Week" and OK Magazine cited AMC as "Hot" with the following comment: "The buzz is justified with Mad Men and Breaking Bad, it's the new HBO."

This Thursday night at 11:30 p.m., Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston is slated to appear as a guest on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno on NBC. His appearance coincidentally (and conveniently) follows the encore presentation of Breaking Bad's Episode 5: "Gray Matter" at 10:30 PM | 9:30C that same evening on AMC. Also scheduled to appear on the Tonight Show are comedian Wanda Sykes and singer Cat Power.

Today's USA Today features an article on Breaking Bad co-star RJ Mitte. The article, "For teen star of Breaking Bad, real-life disability is no obstacle," details the "unique authenticity" that Mitte brings to the role of Walter, Jr. then goes on to detail the events that led to Mitte's being cast in the part.

The article also shows that while RJ shares his character's diagnosis, adjusting to the role still required no small amount of preparation. RJ explains, "Getting used to (Walter's) crutches was really hard because I'd never used them...I had to learn where to put my feet and how to use my weight, and speak with more of a slur." Click here to read the full article.

RJ Mitte is also the focus of an episode of our online video feature "Inside Breaking Bad."

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston sat down for a chat with Fresh Air's TV critic David Bianculli on NPR this Tuesday. The interview covers everything from the resume that Cranston built up over the course of his career to his first scene on Malcolm in the Middle as well as his experiences working on Breaking Bad.

Cranston talks about how he reacted to reading the script for the pilot and immediately began to envision his character Walt as a man who felt "useless, invisible to the world, to society, even to himself." Listen to the full interview »