This sleep documentary tells the behind-the-scenes history of Breaking Bad, covering the original pitch, the networks that rejected it, the first draft script, casting battles, and the making of the pilot.

The video follows Breaking Bad's off-camera story in rough chronological order. It starts with a joke between two X-Files writers who were out of work. It explains how several networks turned down Vince Gilligan's idea before AMC accepted it, and how a script set in California became a show filmed in New Mexico. It ends with the first season, the Writers Guild strike, and Walter White's timeline, all told in calm, slow narration.

What's covered in this video:
The idea began in a phone call between Vince Gilligan and Thomas Schnauz, partly inspired by a New York Times story about a meth cook.
Gilligan pitched the show as "Mr. Chips into Scarface," a series whose lead changes too much for the episodes to be watched out of order.
HBO, TNT, and Showtime passed, and FX chief John Landgraf picked the Courteney Cox series Dirt instead.
At AMC, Jeremy Elice pushed for the project, and Charlie Collier caught Cablevision's Tom Rutledge at his helicopter to get approval.
Gilligan used Bryan Cranston's X-Files episode "Drive" to win AMC over, and he threatened to walk away if Sony blocked Aaron Paul's casting.
A May 2005 draft set the story in Ontario, California, with a 40-year-old Walt, a Nissan Sentra, and a partner named Marion Alan Dupree.
A 25 percent tax rebate moved production to Albuquerque, and later a state law raising the incentive was nicknamed the Breaking Bad bill.
Gilligan fell ill on set, so John Toll shot the flying trousers opening, and a note from Christina Wayne removed most of the music.
The pilot aired on January 20, 2008, to about 1.4 million viewers.
The Writers Guild of America strike cut season one to seven episodes and spared Hank, while Aaron Paul's performance had already saved Jesse.
Gilligan put a photo of his late aunt, Ginny Lambert, in Jesse's house.

Mentioned in this video: Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan, Thomas Schnauz, The X-Files, The New York Times, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Scarface, Al Pacino, Brian De Palma, HBO, Carolyn Strauss, The Sopranos, TNT, Showtime, Weeds, FX, John Landgraf, Dirt, Courteney Cox, Sony Pictures Television, AMC, Mad Men, Rob Sorcher, Jeremy Elice, Cablevision, Tom Rutledge, Charlie Collier, Long Island, Bryan Cranston, Malcolm in the Middle, Matthew Broderick, Aaron Paul, Christina Wayne, Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Hank, Tuco, Marion Alan Dupree, Ontario California, Nissan Sentra, Vons, Applebee's, Chili P, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque Studios, TV Guide, John Toll, Kathleen Detoro, Writers Guild of America strike, Paley Center, Kevin Pollak's Chat Show, Peter Gould, Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad Insider Podcast, Ginny Lambert, Slate, Denny's