Breaking Television: How Breaking Bad Redefined Morality, Genre, and the Antihero

Breaking Television: How Breaking Bad Redefined Morality, Genre, and the Antihero is a compelling exploration of one of the most culturally significant television series of the 21st century. This research examines how Breaking Bad disrupts and ruptures traditional television storytelling, reshaping the figure of the TV antihero, and challenging audiences to confront their own moral limits. Tracing the series’ stylistic innovation, genre hybridity, and philosophical ambition, the research analyses how Breaking Bad reflects and critiques the cultural contradictions of post-9/11 America—particularly the collapse of the American Dream, the rise of neoliberal individualism, the fragility of family and masculine identity in crisis. It interrogates the show’s representation of gender, race, and criminality while mapping its global impact through transnational fandom and streaming culture. Accessible and richly researched, this is a vital text for anyone interested in television’s evolving role as both art and ideology.