Bust out your Erlenmeyer flasks and your methylamine, ladies and gents, 'cuz Breaking Bad is on its way back! AMC has announced that the highly anticipated fourth season will premiere on July 17th. Along with the announcement, the cable network has released a trailer that combines footage from last year with new scenes from the upcoming fourth season.
AMC is really ramping up its hype machine in anticipation of season four. Not only is it giving viewers a chance to get caught up by putting all of season three's episodes On Demand, the channel is re-airing the show in its entirety - from season one - during the late night hours. Also, Breaking Bad: The Complete Third Season is set to be released on DVD on June 7th. The fun doesn't stop there. According to AMCTV.com, "Breaking Bad Season 4 will also be complemented by a variety of exclusive material on AMCTV.COM. Among the special digital content is "Inside Breaking Bad" videos for each episode, behind-the-scenes clips throughout the season and videos of the season's most "Talked About Scenes." The site will also feature a new iteration of its interactive graphic novel, starring Aaron Paul's character Jesse Pinkman, and an interactive case file -- with photos, text and video -- that allows visitors to sift through the same crime scene evidence that DEA agent Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) sees and reviews."
It makes sense that AMC would want to pull out all the stops for Breaking Bad. The show has been a success with critics and awards voters - Breaking Bad has won 6 Emmys and received a whopping 16 nominations in three short seasons - and AMC would love to rewarded with a big bump in the ratings. Breaking Bad has historically enjoyed a improvement in the premier ratings each season: the first season averaged 1.2 million viewers, the second season premiered to 1.7 million viewers and the third season jumped to 2 million viewers fro the opening episode. Ideally, the channel would like for Breaking Bad to compete with its flagship show, Mad Men, which averaged nearly 3 million viewers in its most recent season.
Check out the Breaking Bad Season Four trailer:
Can't... freaking... wait.
Season Three was one of the very best seasons of television ever produced, period.