The premiere date for the fifth season of MAD MEN has been given the green light and is scheduled for March 2012, reports Deadline.com.
Prior to this announcement, protracted negotiations between the series’ creator/executive producer Matt Weiner and producer AMC/Lionsgate TV had delayed Mad Men’s production start, causing the show to miss its original July premiere date. Also AMC had already released a statement, saying that they had “officially authorized production of season 5 of Mad Men, triggering our option with Lionsgate.” AMC further noted that Mad Men’s late start was due to “key non-cast negotiations,” but confirmed that the acclaimed series would be back in early 2012.
According to Deadline.com sources, the new March return date is not directly connected to the contract talks, which included the following points that Weiner objected to: “integrating product placement into the series, cutting two minutes from each episode’s running time in favor of more commercials, and eliminating/reducing two regular cast members to save money.” Purportedly Weiner wanted to have a shorter gap between seasons 4 and 5, even stating that he could produce and deliver season 5 for a 2011 premiere. But it appears that because AMC was juggling five original series, the next available time slot for Mad Men was in March 2012.
Is this what happens when you’re replaced (by The Walking Dead) as the network’s highest-rated show?
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