Cranston's 'Bad' Looking Good at AMC

Zap2It.com | May 23, 2007

Bryan Cranston

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Drama pilot close to pickup at cable channel

Former "Malcolm in the Middle" star Bryan Cranston is close to securing his first regular TV gig since the FOX show ended last season.

"Breaking Bad," a pilot Cranston filmed for cable network AMC, is close to earning a series order, according to The Hollywood Reporter. If it does get the green light, it will become the channel's second original drama series following "Mad Men," a show about the go-go advertising world of the 1960s that's scheduled to premiere in July. The network also airs "Hustle," an import from the BBC.

In "Breaking Bad," Cranston will play a high-school science teacher who's diagnosed with terminal cancer. Applying the knowledge he imparts to his chemistry students, he sets up a meth lab to earn some quick money and provide for his wife and son following his death.

Anna Gunn ("Deadwood"), Aaron Paul ("Mission: Impossible III"), Dean Norris ("Evan Almighty") and Betsy Brandt ("Back When We Were Grownups") also star in the show, which "X-Files" veteran Vince Gilligan created.

Cranston earned three Emmy nominations for playing hapless father Hal on "Malcolm in the Middle." He's also guested on "Seinfeld" and "How I Met Your Mother" and played the devil in ABC Family's miniseries "Fallen" last year.

In addition to "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men," AMC is also developing a western project with Walter Hill, who directed the channel's highly rated movie "Broken Trail," and co-producing a remake of the cult 1960s series "The Prisoner" with British producer Granada.