Believe it or not, Breaking Bad has not been cancelled. The acclaimed drama series is coming back for a fourth season and the cast and crew just took a slightly longer than usual break. AMC has announced that production is about to begin on the next round of 13 episodes and they’ll start to air sometime this summer.

Interestingly, because season three ended in June 2010 and season four isn’t expected to begin until July 2011, Breaking Bad won’t be eligible for any Emmy Awards for the 2010-11 season. Considering that the show’s won several Emmys over the past few years, folks working on other dramas are probably pretty happy about that.

Here’s the press release…

AMC BEGINS PRODUCTION ON “BREAKING BAD” SEASON FOUR

New Season Returns Cast and Crew to Albuquerque, NM
Season Four Set to Premiere Summer 2011

Pasadena, CA – January 7, 2010 – AMC announced today, from the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, CA, that the cast and crew of AMC’s Emmy(R) Award-winning and highly acclaimed original drama series “Breaking Bad” returns to Albuquerque, NM on Thursday, January 13 to begin production on season four. From acclaimed writer/producer/director Vince Gilligan, the series follows the story of a desperate man who turns to a life of crime to secure his family’s financial security. Season four consists of 13, one-hour episodes and is set to debut on AMC in summer 2011.

“As we ramp up production for the next season of ‘Breaking Bad,’ we look forward to returning to Albuquerque, which serves as a perfect backdrop for the evolution of Walt White’s character,” said Susie Fitzgerald, AMC’s SVP of scripted development and current programming. “Vince Gilligan and his team deliver bold storylines that truly deliver a mesmerizing, exhilarating television experience. We look forward to an incredible fourth season.”

“Breaking Bad” has been hailed as one of the best TV dramas on television. Newsday said, “this show – still TV’s best – remains utterly true to itself.” TV Squad heralded, “all things considered, AMC has a lot to be celebrating. Both ‘Mad Men’ and ‘Breaking Bad’ are two of the best — no, they are the best — shows on television.” “The writing is among the very elite in television,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle and Variety qualified “Breaking Bad” as “one of TV’s best dramas.”

“Breaking Bad” stars 2008, 2009 and 2010’s Emmy(R) Award winner for Outstanding Lead Actor Bryan Cranston as Walter White; 2010 Emmy(R) winner for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman; Anna Gunn as Skyler White; Dean Norris as Hank Schrader; Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader; RJ Mitte as Walter, Jr; Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman; Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Fring; and Jonathan Banks as Mike.

“Breaking Bad” follows protagonist White, a milquetoast high school chemistry teacher who lives in New Mexico with his wife and teenage son who has cerebral palsy. White is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of two years left to live. With a new sense of fearlessness based on his medical prognosis, and a desire to gain financial security for his family, White chooses to enter a dangerous world of drugs and crime and ascends to power in this world. The series explores how a fatal diagnosis such as White’s releases a typical man from the daily concerns and constraints of normal society and follows his transformation from mild-mannered family man to a kingpin of the drug trade.

“Breaking Bad” is produced by High Bridge Productions, Inc. and Gran Via Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television for AMC.

AMC’s Joel Stillerman, senior vice president of original programming, production and digital content, Susie Fitzgerald, senior vice president of scripted development and current programming and Jason Fisher, senior vice president of production oversee production of the series for the network.

About AMC
AMC reigns as the only cable network in history to ever win the Emmy(R) Award for Outstanding Drama Series three years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe(R) Award for Best Television Series – Drama for three consecutive years. Whether commemorating favorite films from every genre and decade or creating acclaimed original programming, the AMC experience is an uncompromising celebration of great stories. AMC’s original stories include the Emmy(R) Award-winning dramas Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and entertaining non-scripted programming such as AMC News. AMC further demonstrates its commitment to the art of storytelling with curated movie franchises like AMC Hollywood Icon and AMC Complete Collection. Available in more than 96 million homes (Source: Nielsen Media Research), AMC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, which includes sister networks IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv and Wedding Central. AMC is available across all platforms, including on-air, online, on demand and mobile. AMC: Story Matters HereSM.

About Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television is one of the television industry’s leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, including series, telefilms, theatrical releases and family entertainment around the world and for every platform: broadcast and cable television, first-run and off-network syndication and digital distribution. In addition to one of the industry’s largest libraries of feature films and television shows, SPT boasts a current program slate that includes the top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. Internationally, SPT is a leader in local language productions around the world, some of which are co-produced with local partners, and sells SPE-owned formats in approximately 70 countries. To better serve its clients and partners worldwide, SPT maintains offices throughout the world, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Venezuela and the United Kingdom. SPT’s worldwide television networks portfolio is a key strategy in SPE’s long-range commitment to the global marketplace, with 122 channel feeds, which are available in more than 140 countries reaching almost 438 million households worldwide. SPT also creates original content for and manages SPE’s premium video website, Crackle. Additionally, SPT is a part owner of cable channel GSN, FEARnet, the premier horror/thriller website and VOD service, and national media sales company ITN Networks, Inc. SPT advertiser sales is one of the premiere national advertising sales companies, handling the commercial inventory in SPT’s syndicated series as well as in all of SPE’s digital businesses in the United States. SPT (www.sonypicturestelevision.com) is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to the return of Breaking Bad?

Image courtesy AMC.