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
Walter White (Breaking Bad) evolution from mild-mannered school teacher and family man to ruthless criminal mastermind and murderer is the show's central focus. Although AMC officials hesitated to cast Cranston due to his previous comedic role on "Malcolm in the Middle", Gilligan cast him based on the actor's past performance in the "X-Files" episode "Drive", which Gilligan wrote. Cranston contributed greatly to the creation of his character, including Walt's backstory, physical appearance, and personality traits. Both the Walter White character and Bryan Cranston's performance have received critical acclaim, with White frequently being mentioned as one of the greatest and most iconic television characters of