Emmys 2013: Bryan Cranston has red carpet message for ‘Bad’ fans

Bryan Cranston has a message to the legions of “Breaking Bad� fans who are worked into a frenzy about next week’s series finale: Simply, thank you.

“Our little show about a depressed man who gets terminal lung cancer and starts cooking crystal meth couldn’t have happened without you,� he said while walking the red carpet Sunday at the Emmys. “Who would watch that, or even follow it, if it weren’t for you fans.�

He added that the finale of the show is very much in keeping with what The Times’ television critic Mary McNamara wrote recently in an essay about why “Breaking Bad� and shows of its ilk are the new novel.

Emmys 2013: Full coverage: Best & worst Emmy moments | Red carpet video | Quotes from the stars | Top winners & nominees | Show highlights | Red carpet | Play-at-home ballot | Timeline | L.A. Times photo booth | Emmys presenters

“It was very astute, what Mary wrote,� he said. “It’s also sad in a way because we want the culture of books to stay alive and what we provide and what they provide are very different.�

Still, the serialized story can be found at its finest in the best of novels and on great television shows. And Cranston feels that just like a good book, “Breaking Bad� did, in fact, reach its natural conclusion.

“There’s no question that we have not overstayed our welcome,� Cranston said of the finale. “We have not diluted our story. It’s a fine, fine ending — it’s unapologetic. It ended in a very ‘Breaking Bad’ style.�

ALSO:

Emmys 2013: Two big nominations have Elisabeth Moss in a daze

Emmys 2013: ‘Breaking Bad’s’ Anna Gunn plays it cool on red carpet

Emmys 2013: Nominee Mayim Bialik ‘a lot more nervous’ than last year

Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs and on Facebook facebook.com/ministryofgossip.