Breaking Bad season 5

The final season of *Breaking Bad* premiered on AMC in the U.S. and Canada on July 15, 2012, and ended on September 29, 2013. It consists of 16 episodes, split into two halves of eight each. The first half aired Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET from July 15 to September 2, 2012; the second half aired Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET from August 11 to September 29, 2013. In the UK and Ireland, episodes debuted on Netflix one day after their U.S. broadcast. Part 1 was released on DVD and Blu-ray on June 4, 2013, and Part 2 on November 26, 2013.

Both halves won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 2013 and 2014, following three previous nominations for seasons two, three, and four. The second half also won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Drama, the BAFTA for Best International Programme, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2014. The entire season was met with unanimous acclaim, especially its second half. It earned a Metacritic score of 99 out of 100, which earned the show a Guinness World Record as the most acclaimed television series in history.

The main cast includes Bryan Cranston as Walter White, a terminally ill man who cooks meth to support his family but tries to distance himself from crime; Anna Gunn as his wife Skyler; Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman, Walt’s former student and meth-cooking partner who turns against him; Dean Norris as Hank Schrader, Walt’s brother-in-law and a DEA agent who discovers Walt’s crimes; Betsy Brandt as Marie, Skyler’s sister and Hank’s wife; RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr., Walt and Skyler’s teenage son with cerebral palsy; Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman, a sleazy lawyer who helps hide Walt’s crimes; Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut (season 5A only), a former associate of Gus Fring who helps Walt continue meth production; Laura Fraser as Lydia Rodarte-Quayle (main in 5B, recurring in 5A), Gus’s former business associate who distributes Walt’s meth in Europe; and Jesse Plemons as Todd Alquist (main in 5B, recurring in 5A), a psychopathic former pest exterminator who becomes involved in Walt’s crimes.