Breaking Bad but due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike only seven episodes were filmed. It ran from January 20 to March 9, 2008. A struggling high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (Bryan Cranston), is diagnosed with inoperable, advanced lung cancer. On a ride-along with his DEA agent brother-in-law Hank Schrader (Dean Norris), Walter sees a former student of his, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), fleeing the scene of a meth lab. He later contacts Jesse and devises a scheme to become partners in an attempt to combine their skills to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, with Walter cooking the product and
Breaking Bad dangers of the criminal world. The title comes from the Southern colloquialism "breaking bad", meaning to "raise hell" or turn to a life of crime. Walter's family consists of his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn), son Walter, Jr. (RJ Mitte), and daughter Holly (Elanor Anne Wenrich). The show also features Skyler's sister Marie Schrader (Betsy Brandt) and her husband Hank (Dean Norris), a DEA agent. Walter hires lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), who connects him with private investigator and fixer Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and in turn Mike's employer, drug kingpin Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). The final season introduces the characters