Entertainment·Video

Breaking Bad finale: why the series became must-see TV

After five seasons, the dark and addictive Breaking Bad comes to an end this weekend, with audiences biding farewell to antihero Walter White. Eli Glasner explores what made Breaking Bad must-see TV.

Hit AMC cable series concluded Sunday

Breaking Bad finale

11 years ago
Duration 3:05
Eli Glasner looks at what made AMC's Breaking Bad so addictive for millions of viewers

After five seasons, the dark and addictive TV series Breaking Bad comes to an end this weekend.

Bryan Cranston's acclaimed turn as chemistry teacher-turned-villainous meth-maker Walter White has earned the veteran actor a trio of consecutive best-actor Emmys as well as a place among American television's recent pantheon of compelling antiheroes, joining the late James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano, Michael C. Hall's Dexter Morgan and Jon Hamm's Don Draper.

"Walter White is a Shakespearean tragic character," TV screenwriter and producer Denis McGrath told CBC News.

"It is absolutely out of the playbook and I think that's what makes [the show] have such resonance."

In the attached video, Eli Glasner explores why Breaking Bad became must-watch television.