The network says "Breaking" targets mainly the 25-54 demographic.
 
Network's signature show  
“Mad Men,” the ad-agency drama set in 1960, is smart, topical and unlike anything else on cable. The show averaged 1.6 million total viewers for its first-season premiere last July en route to becoming the network’s No. 1 show and earning loads of positive buzz among critics.

Though viewership had dipped below 1 million by the October season finale, it recently got a big publicity push that will help in season two. On Sunday, “Men” beat out broadcast hits “Grey’s Anatomy” and “House” to take a Golden Globe award as this year’s best TV drama. Star Jon Hamm also picked up a Globe for best actor in a TV drama series.
 
The strategy 
In 2006 AMC began cautiously testing out original programming with the hit miniseries “Broken Trail.” It followed that up with last summer’s “Mad Men.” After earning critical praise and strong ratings for both, AMC plans to push more aggressively with original programming this year to attract men in its target demographics with shows based on strong male characters while further distancing itself from its old identity as a place for movie reruns.

It seems to be following the model of FX, which took off by programming intelligent, edgy shows that earned it the reputation as basic cable’s answer to HBO. The quirkiness of AMC’s shows is drawing comparisons to Showtime, which has become the hot pay cable network with hits like “Weeds” and “The Tudors.”

Like “Weeds,” “Bad” is an edgy drug-related comedy. Unlike that show, however, “Bad” won’t face a lot of broadcast competition. Sundays at 10 p.m. won’t have much original content because of the writers’ strike, which should benefit AMC as viewers turn to cable for original fare.
 
“Bad” becomes the network’s third original scripted series, following “Mad Men” and the London-based caper series “Hustle,” a British import. 
 
The buzz  
Media people say “Bad” is well done but acknowledge that translating quality into strong viewership won’t be easy. AMC is still establishing itself as a network for original programming.
 
“There it turns into a little more of a crap shoot,” says David Scardino, entertainment specialist at ad agency Rubin Postaer and Associates in Santa Monica. “But because of its quality [AMC’s] more likely to stick with it if the ratings aren’t fantastic. It will come down to whether advertisers want to be in it.”
 
He says “Mad Men’s” recent awards success could help the show, as well as AMC as a whole, and that “Bad” does have the elements to catch with viewers.
 
“It kind of has the same sort of perversity that [Showtime’s] ‘Dexter’ has,” Scardino says. “You sit there and find yourself rooting for the bad guy in a way.”
 
What critics are saying
“It’s a given that any new show that opens with its hero wearing only his underwear and a gas mask is going to be different. It’s also a given that if that series comes from screenwriter Vince Gilligan, it’s probably going to be different in a good way.” – Douglas Durden, Richmond Times-Dispatch