Faithful fans of Breaking Bad have been anxiously waiting almost a year for the final season’s last eight episodes, but it looks like the long hiatus was the best decision for the hit AMC show. The return of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) on Sunday night drew 5.9 million viewers, which nearly doubles the 2.93 million who tuned in for season five’s first half last summer.
The major jump in the show’s success can definitely be attributed to major “binge viewing” during the break. Breaking Bad gained a lot of viewers through word of mouth, particularly after the mid-season finale last September — and with almost a year for catchup viewing, it looks like a ton of new fans tuned in at 9 p.m. on Sunday night.
Breaking Bad’s successful evening also helped out AMC’s new show Low Winter Sun, which drew 2.5 million viewers during the 10 o’clock hour.
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