'It Had Never Been Done on Television Before': The Oral History of 'Breaking Bad'

Creator Vince Gilligan, stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, and others reflect on how an offbeat show about a drug-dealing schoolteacher revolutionized television forever. [ view in browser.   add esquire@newsletter.esquire.com to your address book ]             FOLLOW US       The Oral History of Breaking Bad   Television changed the night of January 20, 2008: Breaking Bad, a bold and singular drama about a downtrodden, dying high school teacher so desperate for cash that he starts cooking crystal meth, would come to define a golden era of television. But nobody knew that on the night the show premiered. In fact, there was every reason to assume the show, debuting on a then-nascent network with no track record in original programming, wouldn't last past its first season. To mark the 10-year anniversary of the premiere, Esquire spoke with Breaking Bad's creators, actors, and broadcasters to reflect on this little-show-that-could, its groundbreaking approach to antihero storytelling, and its ascent from hidden gem to cultural phenomenon. READ MORE       Sriracha Is for Closers   Eric Konigsberg clocks in to WeWork to find out just what the hell people actually do there all day. Read On         Who Should Star in the Fire and Fury TV Series?   Michael Wolff's incendiary Trump tell-all is getting a TV adaptation. Let the wild casting speculation begin! Read On         Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood Might Finally Get the Oscar He Deserves   The composer discusses his masterful score for Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread. Read On         Trump's First Year: Everyone Hates Us Now   A damning new Gallup poll shows how the perception of the United States has changed under Trump. Read On         What I Needed After 2017 Was to Get Punched in the Face in Cuba   Cuba is confusing, annoying at times, but maybe healing, too. Read On       Unsubscribe •  Privacy Policy   esquire.com ©2018 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019