As the storm clouds continue to gather around Mad Men's continually uncertain future, Matthew Weiner, who was away on a ski trip of all things, attempted to clear a few things up.
First off, Wiener insists that this isn't about the money; despite the sweet $30-million-over-three-years contract he recently signed, none of AMC's budget cuts and added product placements have to do with how much the network is paying him, and that he has even offered to take a pay cut in order to save the show, but that the more he fights for creative control, the more money AMC offers him. Of course, all of it sounds a bit off, considering that it wouldn't be in AMC's best interest to risk losing what makes their flagship show so great, nor does it seem inline with their brand to attempt to corrupt someone's artistic integrity for the sake of more money. (Of course, considering that their real flagship show in terms of audience numbers is The Walking Dead, maybe AMC has stopped caring about artistic integrity, and in instead focusing on the bottom line.)
But perhaps the weirdest bit of all of this is Weiner's insistence that the channel doesn't just want him to cut two cast member, but rather two per season over the next three, meaning that by 2014 (assuming the show's airdate(s) don't get derailed further), the show will have lost six cast members. And while some have pointed out that perhaps the show could do without a couple of the lesser-served characters (I'm sure you've got a couple in your head right now), trimming one-third or so of the show's cast just isn't going to fly.
Of course, there is always the possibility that somebody is lying in all of this, and that the situation is either simpler or more complex that it has been made out to be. But at this point, all I can do it report the news I see, and keep you filled in as more details arise.
(Okay, I'm just gonna say. The show should drop Betty. She's just useless at this point.)
[From The AV Club, via THR]
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