Exclusive: Channel 5 will not be airing seasons three, four or five of Breaking Bad in the UK, sources at the channel confirm exclusively to TVWise. According to sources at Channel 5, they do not currently own, nor do they have any intention of acquiring, the broadcast rights for the show’s third, fourth or fifth seasons.

The drama series from Vince Gilligan follows Bryan Cranston (Malcolm In The Middle) as Walter White, a terminal cancer patient who, concerned that his family will be without means following his death, turns to cooking methamphetamine to make large amounts of fast money. Breaking Bad has already had two UK broadcasters; with FX airing the show’s first season before Channel 5 snapped up the rights and aired the show’s second season back in 2009 on their 5USA channel. I’m told that poor ratings for the second season of Breaking Bad is the reason that the company decided not to acquire subsequent seasons of the show. That said, the fact that 5USA showed the series in an 11pm time-slot is thought to be another reason that the series struggled to attract a large audience in the UK.

However, there is still some hope that we will get to see Walter and Jesse return to British screens. I have been hearing rumblings of some movement with regards to a new broadcaster for Breaking Bad in the UK. But given that the series is entering production on the final 16 episodes of the show, I’ve been told that unless a UK broadcaster comes on board soon, it is likely that season three onwards could remain unaired in the UK. TVWise is trying to pin down which (if any) channels are in talks with Sony to acquire rights to subsequent seasons and we will bring you more information as we get it.

Breaking Bad has been re-added to TVWise’s Acquisitions Scorecard as unsold