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<h1 class="article-header">'Mad Men' Season Five Delayed Until 2012</h1>

March 30, 2011 12:42 AM
By Kerri Scales

Mad Men title card.
Source: Wikipedia

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Mad Men season five will be delayed until 2012, according to a statement from AMC.

“While we are getting a later start than in years past due to ongoing, key noncast negotiations, ‘Mad Men’ will be back for a fifth season in early 2012,” AMC said.

Sources are confirming that AMC has offered Matthew Weiner, creator and executive producer, a three-year, $30 million contract. Weiner, however, is struggling to come to an agreement with AMC, who he claims have asked him to trim two minutes off of each episode for commercials, allow for more product placement, and get rid of two characters in an effort to cut costs.

“I don’t understand why, with all of the success of the show, they suddenly need to change it,” Weiner told The New York Times. “All I want to do is continue to make my show, and make it in the way I want to, with the people I want to make it with.”

This is not the first time Weiner and AMC have bumped heads. In a similar situation during his contract negotiation two years ago, Weiner sparred with AMC officials over their decision to add additional commercial time. Though the show was finally lengthened by two minutes to account for the added commercials, a source close to the negotiations between Weiner and AMC says AMC has no intention of making a similar agreement this time around.

The proposed $30 million deal would make Weiner one of the highest paid producers on TV, but he says he will continue to hold out for the sake of the show.

“I love the show; I have every intention of it working out,” Weiner told The Times. “This has been the most creatively satisfyingly experience of my life.”