Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston Reveals His Must-Watch TV List

Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston’s talents on-screen may be mainly subjected to drama, but when the former Malcom In The Middle star opened up and shared his list of tv favorites, it was apparent that his interests belonged to a whole different genre: comedy!

“Not since my days on Malcom In The Middle have I seen a show that can make you laugh out loud and at the same time resonate on some deeper level [like Modern Family does],” Cranston says. “Extremely difficult to do because if the audience smells a ‘message’ in an episode — game over, show loses. This program has it all… wonderful writing, fantastic actors. Bravo.”

Bravo indeed, considering that Modern Family is a three-time Emmy winning show! Cranston, who we can soon see on the big screen starring along side Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Phillippe, goes on to reveal a couple more shows that he just cannot miss…

Cranston admits that he loves to watch The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, which he calls “intelligent, funny and current”; 30 Rock, which is, in his opinion “at the top of their game in smart, sophisticated, adult humor”; and Mr. Show, the ’90s sketch comedy series starring Bad co-star Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.

And with his talents in drama and his love for comedy, it’s no surprise when Cranston reveals that he’d love to snag a spot on the five-star rated hit Fox series Glee! “I watch amazed at how these performers are able to do this week after week: singing, dancing, acting. Wow, really impressive, but scary to think about doing it yourself,” he says. “I would choose this show to be a guest performer for that very reason. It scares me. It would be great to challenge that fear and perform at that high level with very little time to rehearse. It reminds me of hosting Saturday Night Live. Working without a net is thrilling, nerve-wracking, and addictive.”

Cranston [who previously performed impressive voice-over work for Malcom In The Middle‘s character Hal], also expresses interest in doing voice-over work for the animated hit series Family Guy, which he admits always presents him with the greatest “laugh-out-loud” moments when he needs one. “OK, so anyone who loves this show is destined to go to hell,” he jokes. “But hell hath no fury like this jaw-droppingly funny show. Seth McFarlane and his team have ignored walking the fine line of: What is too far and what is not far enough? They always go too far. And though I cringe at times at the audacity of what is presented, I am secretly smiling through the attack on my conscience. Family Guy is a ride through the scariest, funniest, most surprising fun house of any carnival in the world.”

But Cranston says his must-watch list does have a serious side, like fellow AMC hit Mad Men for instance, which is “consistently well-written and performed” in his opinion. “The show has the courage to dispense the story on its own time, not succumbing to the pressure of our society’s fast-paced, quick-cutting TV standard. The art direction is superb. The hair, costumes, and other departments, take us back to that rich and alluring era.”

But no matter how amazing these shows may be, Cranston reveals there’s one annual TV viewing event of his that dates back to his childhood that just cannot be matched. “Once a year, and only once a year, CBS would air The Wizard of Oz on a Sunday night. There were no recording devices at home and you couldn’t own the film in any format, so it became a television event,” he says. “My brother and sister and I would gather around our black-and-white console TV in our pajamas and watch in awe — this national treasure of motion picture art. To this day, I like to visit that film once a year. Despite knowing the story, songs, and nearly every moment by heart, it still gives me comfort… and all is well.”

Who knew what an impressive list of series recordings this man was packing on his DVR, huh!?