The series premiered on January 20, 2008 in the United States and Canada on the cable channel AMC, and the series finale aired on September 29, 2013.[9] Breaking Bad received widespread critical acclaim,[10][11][12][13][14] and is widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time.[15][16][17][18][19][20] By its end, the series was among the most-watched cable shows on American television, with audience numbers that doubled in the fifth season from the previous year's episodes.[21]
The series has won ten Primetime Emmy Awards, including three consecutive wins for Outstanding Lead Actor for Bryan Cranston (2008–2010), two wins for Outstanding Supporting Actor for Aaron Paul (2010, 2012), an Outstanding Supporting Actress win for Anna Gunn (2013), and, after three previous nominations, Outstanding Drama Series for the first half of the fifth season in 2013. The series has been nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards and won Best Television Series – Drama and Best Actor for Cranston for its final season. Cranston also received five nominations and won twice for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Male Actor, and the series won for Outstanding Ensemble (Drama Series) for its final season. In 2013, the Writers Guild of America named Breaking Bad the 13th best-written TV series of all time.[22] That same year, Guinness World Records called it the