Vince Gilligan wanted to end Breaking Bad after five seasons because he thought The X-Files went on too long

Digital Spy

"I was very anxious about the idea of folks suddenly moving on, and saying, 'Is that show still on the air? I used to watch it. It used to be good,'" Gilligan said recently while promoting Better Call Saul. "I'd wanted folks rather to say, 'Don't end it now!' That's what I wanted, and that's what we got, thank goodness. So it was me as much as anybody who said, 'I want to leave the stage at a high point, and not go past the high point.'"