AMC sets 'Breaking Bad' July premiere date for season 4
Watch the season 4 trailer
Bryan Cranston and the "Breaking Bad" team will be back on July 17.
That "Breaking Bad" season 4 would be premiering on July 17 at 10 p.m. has been something of an open secret. (Last week's Entertainment Weekly had a big season preview with that date, for instance.) But AMC didn't make it official until today, announcing the date and releasing a season 4 trailer - which, in a good move for spoiler-phobes like me, seems to be comprised entirely of season 3 footage and dialogue:
The best drama on TV can't get back soon enough for my money. As mentioned a while back, I made a brief trip to New Mexico to interview Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and several other castmembers, and to tour the set, and video from those interviews and a set tour post of some kind will be going up closer to the premiere.
Also, in a bit of fortuitous timing, blog reader Benjamin Birdie sent me the link to his "Breaking Bad"-inspired Muppets t-shirt contest design at almost the exact moment the premiere date press release came in, so I might as well share the joy with y'all.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupJames
May 31, 2011 at 12:56PM EST Reply to CommentYes! YESSSSSSSS!
Bunk
May 31, 2011 at 12:57PM EST Reply to CommentEveryday I look at a calendar and I think "Damn, is it July 17th YET!?" Ah well, Season 3 on DVD and Blu-Ray next week. I'll be rewatching that to get my fix
chuchundra
May 31, 2011 at 1:08PM EST Reply to CommentMid July? Don't these people know I'm out of TV to watch? What am I supposed to do until then?
Stacy
May 31, 2011 at 1:13PM EST Reply to CommentAlright!! Now I just have to stop myself from reading anymore about the seaso then I already have.
Jimmy
May 31, 2011 at 1:18PM EST Reply to CommentI had remembered hearing there was only going to be four seasons of Breaking Bad, this isn't the last season is it?
May 31, 2011 at 2:06PM ESTsepinwall At this point, I think the ratings are going to decide more than Vince will. But he's definitely wavered on the whole "I think there's only four seasons worth of story here" thesis.
May 31, 2011 at 3:35PM EST
May 31, 2011 at 3:38PM ESTStacy Well, I'm going to be nervous about those ratings.
May 31, 2011 at 4:03PM ESTI think 5 seasons is prefect, anything more might be too much and they might. but then again, less than a year has gone by in the timeline of the show, so if it does get to a season 6, then it would probably only be about a year and a half of Walter's life- an insanely crazy year and a half.
belinda In some ways, The Killing not becoming a critcs darling helped BB to maintain its place in AMC. TWD gets the most ratings, but has mixed critical response. MM and BB remain the identity of AMC, so VG will be able to make however many seasons he wants, as long as the quality remains high. Ratings (barring a total nosedive) wouldn't be an issue.
June 1, 2011 at 2:27AM ESTJack Alan, since pretty much the renewal for season 3, I've thought that Breaking Bad was a case of auto-renew until it's finished, similar to Mad Men. What makes you think this might not be the case anymore? In spite of their treatment of Mad Men recently (which I don't know much about, so won't comment), surely they won't cancel Breaking Bad at the end of this season if it doesn't rate highly enough?
June 1, 2011 at 5:18AM EST
May 31, 2011 at 1:32PM EST Reply to CommentI just finally caught up when AMC replayed the whole series earlier this year, and man do I regret not starting sooner. Very excited to follow along in real time finally.
tulse luper
May 31, 2011 at 1:48PM EST Reply to Comment"The best drama on TV"? Editorializing much? Season 3 was great and the show seems to be improving each year, but I don`t see how anyone could make a convincing and reasonable argument that Mad Men is inferior to Breaking Bad. And if they tried, they`d probably merely state some stupidities about how there aren`t any axe-wileding cartel members in Mad Men.
May 31, 2011 at 2:01PM ESTaamadis Tulse, I guess you're not familiar with this blog, but Alan does a top ten list each year and his 2010 number one was Breaking Bad. You can read his "convincing and reasonable argument" at the link below. I think you'll also find that a lot of people here agree with that argument.
May 31, 2011 at 2:03PM ESThttp://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/tv-top-10-of-2010-the-best-returning-shows
Molly Well, I think Breaking Bad is better because I enjoy watching it more... it's really pretty simple. If you like Mad Men better that's cool too.
May 31, 2011 at 2:10PM ESTJack He's allowed to "editorialise" (in fact, that's not even the right word, as he's a TV critic and not meant to be impartial on such matters). Don't be so heavy-handed in your defence of Mad Men, people are allowed different opinions.
May 31, 2011 at 2:23PM ESTFifty-Fifty The writing is definitely sharper and more intellectual on Mad Men. However, Breaking Bad`s cinematography is more diverse, and its vistas more grandiose.
May 31, 2011 at 2:59PM ESTCranston is a more versatile lead than Hamm, while Mad Men does a much better job with its female characters.
May 31, 2011 at 3:07PM ESTJohn Breaking Bad IS the best show on TV, probably the best show since The Wire and The Sopranos went off the air. At any rate, I love that you're taking Alan to task for "editorializing." That's his job. He's not a reporter. He does some reporting, but mostly he's paid to write reviews and give his opinion. Good grief.
May 31, 2011 at 3:44PM ESTAnyway, I did want to point out one inaccuracy in this post. Alan says that the preview is entirely made up of Season 3 material, but there's clearly material from both Season 1 (the exterior shot of the building explosion) and Season 2 (Walt bunching the paper towel dispenser, Jesse spinning the revolver, Walt walking out of the Raks hardware store, the explosion in the desert, etc.)
At any rate, I'm with Alan. The best show on TV can't get back soon enough.
June 1, 2011 at 12:42AM EST
June 2, 2011 at 2:45PM ESTnycflo88 Tulse, I agree that season 3 of BB was outstanding, from start to finish. Consider how the series started, and one can make the case that season 3 is the most complete. Unlike, how season 1 didn't finish until the first two episodes in season 2. Nevertheless, I am most definitely looking forward to season 4. As for comparing BB with MadMen, both show appeal to different audiences, but at the core of both shows are two men that make awful choices in life.
June 3, 2011 at 12:03PM ESTPeter
May 31, 2011 at 3:58PM EST Reply to CommentAlan,
Do you know if AMC is going to offer Breaking Bad Season 4 as a subscription on iTunes? I thought this option worked well for Mad Men. Sell the previous seasons at blowout prices in the weeks leading up to the season premier. And then offer day-after-broadcast downloading of the current episodes.
Truck AMC did this for Breaking Bad season 3 as well as The Walking Dead and The Killing, so I imagine they aren't going to stop.
June 1, 2011 at 10:00PM ESTvelocityknown
May 31, 2011 at 4:48PM EST Reply to CommentI love Breaking Bad, can't wait for it to come back, but they should not have called that a trailer. I want new footage!
snakehole
May 31, 2011 at 5:32PM EST Reply to CommentNo new footage but it still gave me goosebumps. July 17 can't get here fast enough!
Dax
May 31, 2011 at 8:18PM EST Reply to CommentI love Benjamin Birdie's contest entry. It's fantastic.
moviefreak17
May 31, 2011 at 10:17PM EST Reply to CommentPremieres on my birthday!!! Thanks AMC!
belinda
June 1, 2011 at 2:19AM EST Reply to CommentSquee! I cannot wait. It's been too long.
Salivating at those interviews and set tour posts.
Dani
June 1, 2011 at 2:50AM EST Reply to CommentThe wait for this show has been agonizing, so this news completely made my day. There is no other drama on television that has me so enthralled and on the edge of my seat with every episode. I absolutely cannot wait to see the fallout from the season three finale.
IreneInIdaho
June 9, 2011 at 12:42AM EST Reply to CommentHi Alan -- Is there a way I can find your reviews of Breaking Bad on the NJ site without having to scroll through endless pages of other reviews? I've just gotten started watching the show on the Wednesday late-night repeats and would love to have your thoughts on some of these amazing episodes!