'Breaking Bad' Season Five Premiere Breaks Records

AMC continues to gain viewership and momentum

Just a month after the conclusion of [Mad Men's most-watched season to date], AMC released that yesterday's season 5 premiere of Breaking Bad, a show about a drug chef and his drug-dealing business, was the most-watched episode in the show's history, marking "unprecedented growth" in viewership.

According to the release, the show saw a 2.2 HH rating and 2.9 million viewers during its 10pm air, a 14% increase compared to last year's premiere, and a 34 percent increase in viewership among the highly-sought 18-49 demographic.

In conjunction with its 11:30 pm encore, which is simply a repeat,  the show accumulated a whopping 3.5 million viewers, 700,000 more viewers than Mad Men's season 5 finale.

Last night's episode was the first of the show's final season, which is slated to run 16 episodes.

Filmed in New Mexico, the show has been critically acclaimed since its January 2008 debut, garnering 16 Emmy nominations during its run.

-Nick Gallinelli