AMC and Lionsgate have inked a multi-season deal for Mad Men
with series creator Matthew Weiner attached.
Weiner has signed on as showrunner for seasons five and six of the show. It was
also announced that Weiner has signed a long-term agreement with Lionsgate that
would extend into a possible seventh season of Mad Men.
"AMC's original programming began with a mission to create bold storytelling of
the highest quality, and Mad Men was the perfect expression of that
commitment. We've been proud to support this show from the day we read Matt's
ground-breaking pilot script and have loved building it with Matt and Lionsgate
into the cultural phenomenon it has become," said Collier. "For everyone
involved in the show and its passionate fans, we are thrilled to announce that
the series will continue on AMC under the exceptional vision of Matt Weiner."
AMC announced Tuesday that it had greenlit production on the
next season of Mad Mendespite a contract dispute with Weiner.
The ongoing negotiations pushed the fifth season premiere to early 2012, instead
of the show's normal summer return.
At the time, the network was prepared to move on with the show with or without
Weiner attached. The Mad Men creator was reportedly offered a contract worth
about $30 million, but remained opposed to requests by AMC to cut minutes from
each episode to add commercial time and reduce the number of cast members to
save money.
In the statement released Thursday, Weiner said, "I want to thank all of our
wonderful fans for their support. I also want to thank AMC and Lionsgate for
agreeing to support the artistic freedom of myself, the cast and the crew so
that we can continue to make the show exactly as we have from the beginning.
I'm excited to get started on the next chapter of our story."
