Emmys 2014: ‘Breaking Bad’ wins drama series award

“Breaking Bad” went out with a bang Monday night, winning a second straight Emmy for drama series for its highly acclaimed final season.

The AMC series had its finale on AMC back in September, when a record 10.3-million viewers tuned in to learn the fate of Walter White, the high-school chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin played by multiple Emmy winner Bryan Cranston. In a remarkable feat for a long-running series, “Breaking Bad” saw its audience grow enormously over its five-season run, morphing from a cult favorite into a mainstream hit.

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Created by Vince Gilligan and also starring Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn and Dean Norris, the series prevailed in the increasingly competitive drama category, which included HBO’s brooding newcomer “True Detective” as well as returning nominees “Mad Men” (AMC), “House of Cards” (Netflix), “Game of Thrones” (HBO) and “Downton Abbey” (PBS).

This marked the third consecutive year in which the four commercial broadcast networks were shut out of the category.

Though “Breaking Bad” is no more, “Better Call Saul,” a spinoff starring Bob Odenkirk as sleazy lawyer Saul Goodman, is scheduled to premiere on AMC in February.

Hosted by Seth Meyers, the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles.

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