Now that Mad Men creator Matt Weiner has signed a new deal to executive produce the popular AMC TV series, he’s ready to end the show. Weiner says that he wants to see Mad Men come to a close after three more seasons because, “I think that’s how long the story is.”
He told TV Guide, “I’m not The Simpsons. They’re amazing. I don’t know how they do it. I look at TV shows that I admire, and I think this is the length that they should be. At a certain point you’re driven to a desire not to repeat yourself. I want the show to end before the machinery has worn out.”
AMC has renewed Mad Men through season six and a new deal with Weiner obligates him to the series through season seven, should there be one.
Weiner planned to begin writing season five today and the rest of the writing staff will join him in a month or so. Production is expected to begin in July and the episodes should begin airing in March 2012. That equates to a 17 month gap between seasons four and five. Weiner says that he fought to get Mad Men back on the air sooner than that but AMC has such a full slate of original programming that it wasn’t possible.
Weiner notes that he almost walked away from negotiations four or five times because of the concessions that Lionsgate and AMC were asking for, including shortening episode runtimes to accommodate more commercials. Other than the season premieres and finales, 45 minute episodes will be shown on AMC (instead of the usual 47 minutes). Weiner will oversee the editing and the full-length episodes will be released digitally and on DVD later.
What do you think? Do you like Weiner’s idea of ending the show after three more seasons? How long do you think it should last?
From what I understand, two minutes of the show will be shot and shown in its completion on DVD, but not aired (for each ep between the premiere and finale). That SUX! I may not watch it on TV and just wait for the DVDs.
Oh my God, shut up about this show already! A buncha big-headed egos. Get over yourselves!
I think ending with a seventh season is perfect, and I actually always felt that is when it should end for Mad Men. If a series is good enough, you should not want it to keep going forever, and just appreciate if it even gets a proper ending (so many do not). Shows need an introduction and an ending, that leaves the audience satisfied. Shows like Supernatural and Desperate Housewives have lost their luster and are dull and boring now. I would hate for that to happen to a great Emmy-winning show like Mad Men. One thing I do hope… Read more »
So… 47-minute versions of the 45-minute episodes will be available digitally and on DVD? It’d be interesting to know what gets left out for the broadcast, as 2 minutes is a lot of time in Mad Men — a lot can happen in 2 minutes.