AMC Ready to Take On Meth with "Breaking Bad"

Showtime has Weeds and now AMC has its very own suburban drug drama.

The cabler is said to be close to greenlighting original drama Breaking Bad, starring Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle) as a terminally ill high school science teacher who becomes a crystal meth dealer (and manufacturer) in order to provide for his family after he dies.
Breaking Bad--written by, directed, and executive produced by Vince Gilligan (The X-Files)-- was shot earlier this year but AMC had debated whether or not to grant the project a series order.

The series order for the project comes at a time when the cabler is attempting to make a major push into scripted series; AMC is launching period drama Mad Men--about 1950s advertising execs--this summer and currently airs the fourth season of crime drama Hustle, a co-production with the BBC.

It's worth noting that the network also recently announced development of an updated version of British cult classic The Prisoner, but should we be nervous that a cable channel whose moniker is an abbreviation of American Movie Classics is remaking one of television's most quintessentially British series?