MAD MEN -- Season SIX Official Thread (part2)

I guess it's more of a contract thing. Remember that these are shows that got long and protracted battles about terms for renewals, and that the network tries to milk every cent it can from a show that's about to end because it's their last chance.

The issue with Breaking Bad, it's that it's now a niche show compared to The Walking Dead. Vince Gilligan and Sony didn't got much interest from AMC for a regular final season. It's a matter of costs of promotion vs ratings and image improvement for the network. So, they tried to shop it to Showtime and other networks, but they still had the issue of a show that's about to end while the other network would have to work its way re-establishing the brand. Then, AMC, Sony and Gilligan found a middle ground: make an extra-long season and split the show in two halves.
Legally, the 16 episodes are all covered by the same contract, applying to the fifth season. Technically, the first eight episodes were written and shot first to air in one batch of episodes, production for the other eight took place one year later. Practically, part 1 of season 5 was released on DVD as "The Fifth Season" (and it's actually longer than the seven-episode season 1) and part 2 will be likely marketed as "The Final Season".

For Mad Men, the thing is that each contract for Weiner (and a few other key players) covers two seasons. After season 2, AMC had exercised their option on the cast but they had to spend weeks to make Weiner sign. After season 4, the same thing happened, but it took four or five months and production went into full hiatus. And, as nobody wanted the same thing to happen again, an option for season seven was already written in the contracts for season five and six under the same terms.
Basically, if Weiner wants to make a seventh season, and if AMC agrees to air it, they can't feud much because they already agreed to the main terms. One of them may want to change the number of episodes or to air them in two bunches, but that's about it. Anything beyond that would require an entirely new contract, for an eighth season, and it's not going to happen.

 

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/23/entertainment/la-et-st-mad-men-premiere-20130122

 

Ugh.

 

Yeah, I REALLY don't want them to split it up, especially if it is only 13 episodes. Splitting up 16 made a tiny bit more sense to me, but splitting up 13 would be annoying.

 

Splitting the final season of Breaking Bad into two parts was a horrible idea, and I sure hope that the final season of Mad Men doesn't follow suit.

 

Double UGH!

 

Rewatching Season 3 and it's a shame what happened to Sal....

 

Well, for better or for worse, it's now official...

http://www.hitfix.com/news/final-mad-men-season-gets-a-seven-and-seven-split-by-amc

But the good news is that there will now be one additional episode...

 

Oh for frack's sake

 

Very disappointing.

 

WTF !!

Really drawing it out ....spring 2014 and spring 2015.......yawn..........

 

It is a terrible idea, and I'm sad that those bastids who run AMC are doing the same thing to Mad Men that they did to Breaking Bad. And don't get me stahted on the spin-off they're going to do with Walking Dead...

 

Now they get to sell me two more Blu-ray sets instead of one. That's one of the major reasons I think. Sigh.

 

So the seven shows in spring 2014 is not the final season, the final season is in 2015. I don't care how they spin it, those are the facts.

I guess the only difference being no cliff hanger at the end of season 7.

 

You know they will film them all together. It's just a money thing.

 

BINGO!!!

 

It's such a douchey thing to do -- it seemed like the people involved in the making of this had higher ideals - standards etc.....

 

Yeah and the real kicker is that the half-season blu-rays are the same price as a normal full season. At least that's how Breaking Bad 5A is.

 

I agree. I was a little worried that they might pull this crap for Mad Men, since they've done it for their other shows, but I thought Weiner would be above such things. Nope.

 

What a revoltin' development!

 

I doubt it. They didn't film Breaking Bad season 5 all together.

 

Whaddaya wanna bet they'll count two-hour season premieres as two episodes for the 14-episode count?

 

Very lame. So why won't they just call them what they really are - season 7 and season 8. They're on in two different seasons.

 

You'd think. But this trend started years ago with The Sopranos. Season 6 Part 1 ran in the spring of 2006 and then Season 6 Part 2 ran in the spring of 2007.

Then it happened with Battlestar Gallactica. Season 4.0 ran in 2008 starting in April. Season 4.5 started in January, 2009.