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AMC wants a 'Mad Men' summer
Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner still hasn't signed a new deal to continue with the show, but AMC is confident enough that he will to announce a summer premiere for the show's third season.
Network president Charlie Collier made a brief mention of the show's premiere date -- summer 2009, nothing more specific than that -- during AMC's time at the Television Critics Association press tour Thursday afternoon. After the session he expanded on the announcement a little bit.
"Lionsgate [which produces Mad Men] continues to be in negotiations with Matt, so I won't go too deep into an active negotiation," Collier says. "But we remain optimistic that Matt will be part of the show, and third quarter has always been our plan" for the season three debut.
Collier also says that while he hopes Lionsgate and Weiner reach a deal soon -- Weiner's initial agreement was only for two years, and he's said to be seeking a hefty bump in pay -- the summer target isn't in any kind of jeopardy. "As long as the writers room is up and running in the next few months, it should work fine," he says. "As I said before, the schedule has always been for the third quarter, and we plan to keep it."
He also notes that the writers didn't begin work on the show's second season until after the writers strike ended in February 2008, and Mad Men was able to make its July premiere date without any real headaches.
Asked if there's any contingency plan in case Lionsgate and Weiner can't come to terms, Collier would only say, "We're working on Matt. We're focused on bringing him back."
what about the actors? i heard the whole cast wants wants a hefty bump in salary... the whole show may be in jepordy - AMC doesnt have that kind of money.
| Jan 8, 2009 6:30:00 PM | #Although I feel that the actors, and writers and producers, deserve what they're worth, I hope this doesn't turn into a big enough problem that it delays the season start. I have been looking forward to this since the day the season 2 finale aired.
cinnarose | Jan 8, 2009 7:50:03 PM | #I'm more worried that this could send the show to HBO or Showtime. I'd much prefer a delay in the start of the season than to lose it to premium cable. I don't have premium cable and probably wouldn't get it for this 1 show. I'd just have to wait for the DVD sets.
funkychick | Jan 9, 2009 4:00:18 PM | #It seems like this isn't a story until Weiner signs on the dotted line. AMC is putting out a lot of "Not to worry" press releases but this is a huge impasse. This show CANNOT continue without him - I doubt any of these actors would work for anyone but Matt Weiner.
bhm1304 | Jan 12, 2009 12:34:13 PM | #Never have seen the show but after the buzz Ive heard I think I just might go out and rent the previous seasons...funnyChick have you ever seen HBO shows, there is a reason why HBO is one of the most nominated network on tv. And I doubt that the show will go to HBO it will probably end up on NBC since there in desperate need of primetime shows that can compete with the other networks.
ZR1Vette | Jan 19, 2009 12:55:21 AM | #
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