Mad Men fans are certainly living up the show’s title over the extended hiatus and the fact that the show won’t return for season 5 until March 2012, but now there’s reason to be glad instead of mad. Creator Matt Weiner and AMC have reached a deal on a new contract. Weiner will stick around for three more seasons.
UPDATE: In an interview with TV Guide, Weiner revealed that he has a firm end date for the show, and that Mad Men will end after season 7.
The deal follows negotiations that dealt primarily with two issues: squeezing more commercials into episodes to increase advertising revenue and trying to keep the cast’s salaries down to avoid the high cost of maintaining the series.
According to Variety, the new deal is a compromise where AMC wins on the commercial issue, where they asked the show to cut two minutes per episode down to 45 minutes, while Weiner won out on not having to trim the cast each season to keep costs down. The deal is also huge for Weiner, who will earn $30 million if the show runs for three more seasons.
Two days ago, Mad Men fan site Basket of Kisses posted an interview with Weiner where he detailed his side of the debate over his show’s future. Basket of Kisses is also part of BuddyTV’s Premier Blogger Program, the best way for TV fans to participate in the BuddyTV experience. Do you have your own blog about a favorite show? Become a part of BuddyTV and join the Premier Blogger Program! Click HERE to learn more and sign up.
With Mad Men not returning until March 2012, it means the show will take a 17-month hiatus between the end of season 4 and the start of season 5. But if you think that’s long, then you’ve probably forgotten about HBO’s The Wire, which took a 21-month break between the end of season 3 and the start of season 4.
The deal is great news for the show’s future. While contract negotiations forced this delay, a three-year contract means that delays will be far less likely to occur between the next three seasons, which is certainly that Don Draper would raise a glass to.
Source: Variety
(Image courtesy of AMC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
