Despite a 13-month absence after an excruciatingly tense Season 3 cliffhanger, “Breaking Bad” set a ratings record in its return to AMC on Sunday night. According to Nielsen, an estimated 2.6 million people tuned in to witness the further misadventures of the meth dealers Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and to learn whether Jesse actually killed a fellow meth cooker. That number was 32 percent greater than the viewership for last season’s premiere, and was the highest total in the series’ history.
Elsewhere, CBS won the night for the broadcast networks, with a double bill of “60 Minutes” (8.5 million total viewers) and “Big Brother” (6.89 million) leading the way. On Friday night, the 90-minute series finale of “Friday Night Lights” on NBC played the underdog to the end, drawing a mere 3.48 million viewers. That episode, which ran earlier on DirecTV, last week earned an Emmy nomination for outstanding writing for a television drama, along with the three other nominations (for outstanding drama, actor and actress).