So, wow, AMC must have had Variety on speed-dial. Matt promised us he would call us first, and he did; we just got off the phone. Because he called on no notice at all, I wasn’t recording, but I type at finger-blurring speeds, so this is very close to verbatim from Matt Weiner to us:
There are going to be three more seasons of the show and then it will be over.
There is going to be, characters will not be cut from the show unless it serves the story, and the product integration policy will remain as it’s been.
I am so excited that I get to keep doing this and overwhelmed by the realization that this show is as important to other people as it is to me.
I can’t thank you enough for your concern and your support and—just so everybody knows this is really me—I really hope the show is going to be good.
The way that it’s going to work is that the premiere…and the finale of each season will be the running time its always been; 47 minutes, and then AMC, on Sunday nights, will broadcast a 45 minute [show], and eight days later, there will be a digitally available “final cut” of the show available online. And that will be the running time and format of the way the show has always been.
I feel very blessed that i keep getting to make the show the way it is, and also that AMC has a version that works for them.
I asked if this changed the projected return date:
The show will be on in March of 2012, and that was always the plan of the network. They have four shows to launch this year, and honestly we will need that time.
The individual support, you, [the fans], the actors, the crew, has been tremendous.
You’re very important to the show, you’re everything to the show. I hope everybody is as happy as I am.
We are, Matt. We are.
65 Responses to “Matt Weiner’s words to the fans”
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Or nursing.
Jada Pinkett/ Edie Falco.
[...] Mad Men creative contract deal had been sanctioned and consummated. Huzzah! (The Lipp Sisters got a Weiner-god exclusive here.) As a voice on a blog I lost the immediacy and relevance of my post, so sad. But as a Mad Men [...]
Dance, most TV producers think there are no other occupations. I mean, really, other than our ad men, isn’t everyone on TV involved with medicine and/or law enforcement? I mean, especially in dramas.
Even if you get an exception: A social scientist like Cal Lightman of Lie to Me, what does he do with his science? Solve crimes.
#52 Angie Harmon(Somebody? & Somebody? – Rizzoli and Isles – pretty good show
Or lawyer shows, which I guess is a shootoff of law enforcement Glenn Close on Damages, Kathy Bates on Harry’s Law.
I think it’s just over-40 actors in general though- you also have Forest Whitaker and Gary Sinise on their respective law enforcement shows.
Deborah,
Alien invasions.
‘Nuff said.
I am so excited about the news that Mad Men will continue. Such a fantastic show. Thanks to all who helped keep the show alive. Kuddos to Matt Weiner for his perseverance!!
Deborah & Roberta- Babies, ya’ll are the greatest! (Jackie Gleason kiss) ;O) THANK YOU for your effort. I can now breathe a sigh of relief, I was really getting worried there for a bit.
My only qualm: (and please no one shoot me for this comparison)…when Project Runway moved from Bravo to Lifetime, the show really lost momentum….due to the wait? or the not-so-stellar cast, the next time ’round…? My point is, negotiations + really long wait can sometimes alienate fans, not that I won’t be watching come next March…just saying.
I know anticipation is great for certain things….how much time is too long, I wonder? In the meantime, I hope AMC will throw us some marathon bones for the long, hot summer….
@35-Sally will experience it through the nightly news, magazines, and older siblings of friends. However, I would much rather the show skip 1967 and go right to 1968.
Yeah!!!!!!!!!! “Mad Men” is coming back! This is great news. Thanks Lipp Sisters, for all the hard work you do.
Dance (hello dear!) & Deb,
It is high time for a show about a woman who cleans people’s homes — each one, exactly once (or tries to limit her engagements this way). She takes something of small emotional value from each home, and deploys it in the next one.
No crimes, other than this one, involved. (Alien invasions? Perhaps the woman is one, of a kind.)
Now there’s a show I’d watch.
I’m disappointed. This show always belonged on HBO or SHOW. This tawdry cheapness would not have occurred there. The show would have been better there. At least we now have some clarity.
Deborah & Roberta:
Thank you so much for devoting your time and creativity to all of us. We appreciate the forum you provide to intelligently discuss and analyze Mad Men, especially as it relates to us on some very personal levels. Plus, its just damn fun, ya know?
Through you both, I have been able to expand my circle of friends (hey there Annie & Jim!) and I do look forward to one day meeting you both.
A year is not so long to wait and we’ll all have lots to talk about.
PS Tell Arthur to keep posting. I am a huge fan of The Walking Dead. It reminds me of the place I work. Cheers!
I’m disappointed. This show always belonged on HBO or SHOW. This tawdry cheapness would not have occurred there. The show would have been better there. At least we now have some clarity.
HBO? The network that cancelled Deadwood, promised a movie & then dropped those plans? What about Rome, also cancelled early; Wikipedia said a movie was planned–as of 2008! Then there was Carnivale–also ended prematurely. By HBO.
Glad Mad Men is coming back!