Mad Men

It's been quite the past couple of days for AMC's Mad Men. First The Daily reported, “Mad Men” Canceled?.

Cablevision is planning on spinning off Rainbow Media Holdings in an IPO. RMH includes AMC, IFC, Sundance and others. The execs would make a fortune. But they want RMH to be profitable so they want some changes at Mad Men (their most successful show).

"The execs are said to be demanding that [show creator Matthew] Weiner cut three minutes from every episode so they can sell six more 30-second advertisements, and they are demanding the elimination of two characters."

The NY Times had more. AMC officially renewed the show for a fifth season but it won't air until 2012. They are still working on contracts and Weiner's contract expired at the end of the last season. "In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Weiner confirmed AMC had proposed cuts to the cast and a two-minute cut to the length of each episode. The cuts would, he said, fundamentally make “Mad Men” a “different show.”"

"The person said that, two weeks ago, AMC made a three-season contract offer to Mr. Weiner that would be worth about $30 million. That would make him an exceptionally highly paid producer. But for now, he has not accepted the offer."

Here's my take. It's not worth doing the show without Weiner. I would rather it lose 2 minutes an episode than any characters. Sure the stars would stay but the others in the firm add a lot to the show.