The second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on March 8, 2009, and concluded on May 31, 2009. It consisted of 13 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length. AMC broadcast the second season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States. The complete second season was released on Region 1 DVD and Region A Blu-ray on March 16, 2010.
Cast
Main
Bryan Cranston as Walter White, a terminally ill high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Walt runs a drug business with his partner Jesse. Anna Gunn as Skyler White, Walt's pregnant wife and a bookkeeper for the firm Beneke Fabricators. Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman, a laid-back, small-time drug dealer and cooker who is in partnership with Walter White. Dean Norris as Hank Schrader, Walt and Skyler's brother-in-law and a DEA agent. Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader, Skyler's sister and Hank's wife. RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr., Walt and Skyler's teenage son, who has cerebral palsy.
Recurring
Krysten Ritter as Jane Margolis, Jesse's drug addicted landlord and later girlfriend. Steven Michael Quezada as Steven Gomez, Hank's partner at the DEA. Charles Baker as Skinny Pete, one of Jesse's friends who helps sell Walt and Jesse's meth. Christopher Cousins as Ted Beneke, Skyler's former boss whom she begins a brief affair with. Matt L. Jones as Badger, one of Jesse's friends who helps sell Walt and Jesse's meth. Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman, a sleazy lawyer who becomes affiliated with Walt's crimes. John de Lancie as Donald Margolis, Jane's father and Jesse's landlord who also works as an air traffic controller. Tom Kiesche as Clovis, Badger's cousin. Rodney Rush as Combo, one of Jesse's friends who helps sell Walt and Jesse's meth. Michael Shamus Wiles as George Merkert, the head of the Albuquerque DEA office, Hank and Steve's boss. Raymond Cruz as Tuco Salamanca, a wrathful drug kingpin and formerly the distributor of Walt and Jesse's meth. Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Fring, the owner of the fictional fast-food chain, Los Pollos Hermanos, and secretly a drug kingpin associated with the Cartel who is the new distributor of Walt and Jesse's meth. Tess Harper as Diane Pinkman, Jesse's mother. Mark Margolis as Hector Salamanca, Tuco's mute and wheelchair-bound uncle who only communicates with a bell. Sam McMurray as Dr. Victor Bravenec, one of Walt's surgeons. Carmen Serano as Principal Carmen Molina, the principal of J.P. Wynne High School, the school that Walter Jr. attends and Walt works at.
Guest
Jeremiah Bitsui as Victor, Gus' loyal henchman. Nigel Gibbs as APD Detective Tim Roberts, a homicide investigator for the Albuquerque Police Department and one of Hank's colleagues. Jessica Hecht as Gretchen Schwartz, Walt's old friend and former fiancee. Tina Parker as Francesca Liddy, Saul's secretary. Danny Trejo as Tortuga, a member of the Cartel who's working as an informant for the DEA. Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut, a "cleaner" and one of Saul's associates who also works for Gus.
Episodes
The titles of the first, fourth, tenth, and thirteenth episodes form a sentence that reveals an event that takes place in the season finale (Seven Thirty-Seven Down Over ABQ).
Production
The writers of Breaking Bad planned the storyline for the entire season in advance of filming and knew how the season would end right from the beginning. That differed from subsequent seasons, in which the writers did not have a complete plan and developed the storyline as the episodes progressed. Series creator Vince Gilligan said of season two, "That came about through many, many hours of beating our heads against the wall—very laborious work, which is probably why we haven't repeated that formula since."
Music
The original score for Breaking Bad was composed by Dave Porter. The show also uses music from other recording artists with music supervision by Thomas Golubić. Selected songs from Season 2 are featured on the Breaking Bad soundtrack available through iTunes and Amazon.
Home video releases
The second season was released on DVD in Region 1 and Blu-ray in Region A on March 16, 2010. It was released on DVD in Region 2 on July 26, 2010 and in Region 4 on February 8, 2010.