What Only Die-Hard Fans Know About Breaking Bad

Just like at the counter of Los Pollos Hermanos, there's a whole lot going on behind the scenes of Breaking Bad. From shocking character choices to the show's lasting legacy, here's the stuff that only true fans know about the award-winning show.

Once primarily a repository for old movies, AMC launched Mad Men in 2007 and Breaking Bad in 2008, positioning itself as a major "peak TV" player alongside the likes of TNT, HBO, and FX. Oddly enough, all those networks had the chance to take on Breaking Bad and turned it down. As creator Vince Gilligan told the Television Academy Foundation about his TNT experience:

However, at the end of his breathless description of the first episode, the executives final response wasn't nearly as positive as Gilligan had hoped:

Evidently, they were scared off by the fact that Walt cooks meth, so they asked Gilligan if he could make him a counterfeiter instead. Gilligan rightly thought that making Walt a counterfeiter wouldn't be the right formula, so he moved on to other networks. While Gilligan says the HBO executive he met with wasn't interested, FX actually bought the series, only to eventually reverse course. FX President John Landgraf eventually explained why they passed on the show while talking to KCRW's The Business:

Ultimately, FX decided to branch out and greenlit the Courtney Cox drama Dirt, instead of going with Breaking Bad. After all these rejections, things were looking bad for the show. As a last resort, his agent sent it to AMC, which was looking to expand its original programming slate. And the rest, as they say, is history. Keep watching the video to discover what only die-hard fans know about Breaking Bad.

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Other networks missed out | 0:13
Almost caught in the Weeds | 1:59
The finale | 3:01
Was it a comedy? | 4:11
Skyler White's possible death | 4:53
Gus replaced Tuco | 5:38
A right turn at Albuquerque | 6:47
Just stay off the roof | 7:28
The episode titles matter | 8:24
The clothes make the man | 9:42
Jane's death was almost worse | 10:45
A fan changed the ending | 11:50