No surprise at all, but Mad Men Broadcasting & Cable (and others) is reporting AMC has exercised the option to pick up Mad Men for a third season.
What’s up in the air is series creator Matthew Weiner, who doesn’t yet have a new contract with production company Lionsgate. While Mad Men isn’t a ratings beast, for AMC it has performed well, averaging 1.5 million viewers so far this season and, of course, it got the Emmy for best drama series. During season one, Mad Men averaged 900,000 viewers.
As a fan of the show I’ve found it somewhat up and down this season. Last Sunday’s episode as a separate artsy piece was fine and specifically the LA/Palm Springs scenes were nicely done. But as part of a continuing series I found myself asking, “Uh, where the hell are they going with this?” Hopefully the dots will get connected for me later this month by the season finale.
After the Emmys, I decided I would finally try Mad Men. Unfortunately, I did not like it. I really wanted to, but I couldn’t, so I gave up after four episodes.
The wheels seem to be coming off this show. The story isn’t very tight and the lack of chemistry just kills it for me at this point. How did it go from the brilliant final episode in Season One to the meandering mess it is now?
Most of the people I tried to turn onto the show, have already changed the channel and moved on. The pacing was one of the most consistent comments from everyone.
Julia, exactly my experience last year. Once I got over the time period / setting (same as my childhood), there just wasn’t anything there for me.
Just a minute here. Recall that season 2 picks up 2 years after 1 ended and that much has happened in the duration. It’s not that the show is reinventing itself, but that it is evolving with the times and the culture. Think of the portrayals in the most recent episode (which is near to the end of this 2nd season, only 2 more to go – need to fit a lot in before signing off?) as a marker for some of those changes – cultural, political, that were occurring during this time. In this episode alone, marching for Civil Rights in the south,Bob Dylan(and all that he was about to inspire)entering the public consciousness, the visibility of women in the ad world, likewise to the emergence of a gay man in that same world, the budding awareness of the sexual revolution (”I can tell you like sex, I do too”)were all referenced and dramatized. The transition from Nixon to Kennedy has already been chronicled as well as increased awareness of psychotherapy and its availability. Does not Betty’s emergent strength and assertion of her own choices signal a more “liberated” stance. In my view, Don’s abandoning his LA work mission and going off on what may be both a personal and overall cultural / midlife flight or crisis was his (or society’s) reaction to any or all of these phenomena, as in “I’m losing my bearings…I can’t keep up…Where is my place in this new world? He didn’t drop out with the “counterculture” last season, but his fling with the”jetset” now seems more in line with Don’s lifestyle. And if he is panicky or anxious, does that lead to his effort to connect with Dick Whitman? Does he need to retreat and reconnect, painful as it may be, to get his life in order to move forward? (Whom did he call anyway?) No, I don’t belive the show has lost its way. I do believe thet the show “gets it” and is striving to capture the moment, many moments actually. There was more going on than what was occurring at home and in the office. Mad Men recognizes this and goes beyond. I hope they keep it up.
Just a minute here. Recall that season 2 picks up 2 years after 1 ended and that much has happened in the duration. It’s not that the show is reinventing itself, but that it is evolving with the times and the culture. Think of the portrayals in the most recent episode (which is near to the end of this 2nd season, only 2 more to go – need to fit a lot in before signing off?) as a marker for some of those changes – cultural, political, that were occurring during this time. In this episode alone, marching for Civil Rights in the south,Bob Dylan(and all that he was about to inspire)entering the public consciousness, the visibility of women in the ad world, likewise to the emergence of a gay man in that same world, the budding awareness of the sexual revolution (”I can tell you like sex, I do too”)were all referenced and dramatized. The transition from Nixon to Kennedy has already been chronicled as well as increased awareness of psychotherapy and its availability. Does not Betty’s emergent strength and assertion of her own choices signal a more “liberated” stance. In my view, Don’s abandoning his LA work mission and going off on what may be both a personal and overall cultural / midlife flight or crisis was his (or society’s) reaction to any or all of these phenomena, as in “I’m losing my bearings…I can’t keep up…Where is my place in this new world? He didn’t drop out with the “counterculture” last season, but his fling with the”jetset” now seems more in line with Don’s lifestyle. And if he is panicky or anxious, does that lead to his effort to connect with Dick Whitman? Does he need to retreat and reconnect, painful as it may be, to get his life in order to move forward? (Whom did he call anyway?) No, I don’t belive the show has lost its way. I do believe thet the show “gets it” and is striving to capture the moment, many moments actually. There was more going on than what was occurring at home and in the office. Mad Men recognizes this and goes beyond. I hope they keep it up. PS This is an original submission. Please post it!
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I am completely stunned that the show’s ratings actually dropped for the episode that aired after the big Emmy win.
I’ve always contended that to grow the show they need to make the show, especially the first season more accessible to people. The surge the show had during its mid-season was due to two things: reduced competition because other shows were airing reruns and showing a marathon of season 2 shows. I suspect that there is no single party here holding the cards and divergent interests are at play.
Based on recent reports, it looks like none of the parties have contracts with any other party: the actors, writers, production company, the broadcaster. What does it mean AMC exercised its option to air a third season? No other broadcaster has access to the show? Is it an empty gesture?
A, my read of things is that with or without Matt Weiner, a 3rd season of Mad Men will air on AMC. I will be stunned if it’s without him, but we’ll see.