There was a time when Bryan Cranston was known primarily as the goofball dad with a penchant for royally screwing up on Fox's hit comedy "Malcolm in the Middle." Likewise, there was a time when cable television was thought of as a wasteland of reruns and overplayed movies—an option in your viewing schedule but certainly not a necessity.

Over the past few years, the tide has turned in a major way. Now cable TV—basic and pay channels—is home to headline-making water-cooler hits such as "Mad Men," "The Closer," and "Sons of Anarchy." Original programming on channels such as FX and TNT has leapt from one or two shows to several full nights of appointment viewing. And actors like Cranston are flocking to these shows, taking roles that present new challenges and bring the actors a whole new level of acclaim. Cranston's dramatic performance as a cancer-stricken meth dealer on AMC's "Breaking Bad," for instance, has netted him three Emmys, including one at Sunday's ceremony.

FX president and general manager John Landgraf noted that his channel has gone from a single scripted show in 2002 (the award-winning "The Shield") to eight current original series, including the freshman offering "Terriers," which premieres this month. The expansion is happening across the cable landscape. "We recently counted, for a presentation, the number of scripted original series that were on cable, and I think we included premium and basic," said Landgraf. "When 'The Shield' launched, there were about 40. This year, there will be about 140. That's a really substantial increase in eight years."

Landgraf said he would like to see FX ultimately get up to about 12 original series, and other channels are looking to expand as well. The Hollywood Reporter recently reported that the pay channel Starz, which had a hit this year with "Spartacus: Blood and Sand," is looking to raise $1 billion in financing for original programming. (When asked for comment, a Starz representative provided the following statement: "Starz, which has been public about its intention to dramatically increase the volume of quality original programming it develops, produces, and/or acquires, had no comment on its financial model.")

Whereas broadcast networks are usually looking to cast the widest net possible, cable channels focus more on clearly branding themselves so viewers know exactly what they're getting. "I think they feel they can take risks: They're trying to build a brand, and they want something that you can't get on broadcast television," said Television Critics Association president Susan Young, who has written for People and Variety. "So they're going to go for the edgier shows. And I think, beyond that, they're trying to get top talent in there, and the lure [for] top talent is the idea that they have freedom that they wouldn't have on broadcast television."

Certainly that's been a big part of the appeal for name actors such as Kyra Sedgwick (who also took home an Emmy Sunday night, for "The Closer"), Holly Hunter ("Saving Grace"), and Glenn Close ("Damages"), who have found niches on cable that weren't available elsewhere. Cable "absolutely is where the meaty roles are," said Young. "Particularly for actresses. I mean, Glenn Close was not getting the kind of role she got on 'Damages.' Cable can offer these actresses these really good, meaty roles that they weren't being offered anymore in movies or broadcast TV. They can actually do the kind of work they want to do."

"I think the broadcast networks got into a bit of a rut with procedural shows," said Landgraf. "The nonprocedural shows weren't repeating very well, and there have been a lot of very high-paying roles for actors in those procedural shows, but they have not tended to be particularly dynamic from a character standpoint or a writing standpoint. I think that premium and basic cable have really taken up the slack in terms of serious, ambitious writing for characters."

Cable has also grown into a nurturer of talent, providing dramatic showcases for actors who needed the right role to break through. "I've been acting for 22 years," Elisabeth Moss, who has scored two Emmy nods for her work on "Mad Men," told Back Stage earlier this year. "To be a part of something that you really want to be a part of is something to be proud of. The pedigree this show has—as somebody who has done a lot of work, and a lot of little things, it feels good to be part of something that people respect like that."

Likewise, actor Kim Coates enjoyed doing arcs on broadcast shows such as "CSI: Miami" and "Prison Break," but his role as badass biker Alex "Tig" Trager on "Sons of Anarchy" has given him a whole new fan base and level of critical acclaim. " 'Sons of Anarchy' is one of those shows—there's really nothing quite like it on television," he said. "There's a gal in New York who I met, she's a reviewer, and she said, 'Tig is the kind of guy you love to hate and hate to love.' He's very complex."

Of course, there are also downsides to acting on a cable show: Salaries tend to be lower, budgets tend to be tighter, and schedules tend to be more jam-packed. "Initially, whereas a first-year drama on broadcast might get eight or nine days to shoot an episode, we get seven," said Michael Wright, executive vice president and head of programming at TNT and TBS. "Where a broadcast series might have eight to 12 writers in the room, we might have six."

That said, Wright pointed out that this means writers and actors often find a "cagier, smarter" way to work. For example, Coates finds the "guerrilla warfare" style of shooting on "Sons of Anarchy" to be exhausting but ultimately invigorating as an actor. "The stories are like miniature movies," he said. "People love coming to work."

Wright added that cable's typically smaller episode orders—10 to 15 a year versus 22—leave time for actors to pursue other projects. "If you're Kyra Sedgwick or Tim Hutton, you can come do your TNT series, spend five or six months working on it, then you've got half the year to go do a film or do a play or be with your family," he said.

Looking to the future, many cable channels are primed for further expansion and brand-enhancing success. Landgraf hopes that continues to mean challenging roles for great actors. "I hope it remains vibrant for a long period of time," he said of cable programming. "There's an awful lot of really talented people out there who just need the right role and the right vehicle and the right opportunity and they can make something really spectacular happen."