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The third season premiere of AMC's Breaking Bad March 21 was the show's highest rated episode ever.
The premiere pulled in 2 million viewers (posting a 1.4
household rating) for it's 10 p.m. bow, according to Nielsen.
That marks a 40% increase over the shows second season
average.
Repeat airings at 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. gave the first episode
a total audience of 3.1 million viewers.
Breaking Bad stars
Bryan Cranston -- the best actor Emmy winner two years running -- as a
high-school science teacher-cum-meth dealer.
The show has grown 63% in total viewers since its premiere
three seasons ago.
The third season premiere also juiced iTunes downloads;
the third season sat atop the iTunes "season pass" ranker on March
22 while the show's first season was ranked No. 3.
