Mad Men: Fourth Season, and Contracts for All

Back on October 20, 2008, I wrote a column about the actors from “Mad Men,” as well as series creator Matthew Weiner not having contracts for a third season.

It made me laugh last night to see another columnist claim to have some corner on this story. The hype is getting out of control in some areas!

Anyway, it turned out that Jon Hamm had a contract, but the second-tier players did not. The situation was eventually remedied, and even Weiner got his deal. Now AMC has renewed “Mad Men” for a fourth season, and everyone will be back.

They’d better hurry getting back on the air with the new season once this one is over. And Weiner had better be extra careful how his timeline proceeds. It does seem that 1964 is just around the corner on “Mad Men,” which will be the beginning of a new world to the characters — one jarringly different from the beautiful early ’60s scenarios everyone’s in love with.

By 1964-65, “Mad Men” runs the risk of becoming “Bewitched,” the original TV show about the advertising world. “Bewitched” was silly on many fronts, but its depiction of Larry Tate, Darren and the ad firm they worked for — the clients, the pitches, the constant firing and threatening of employees — was incredibly accurate. Can we expect Sterling Cooper competing with McMahon Tate? I hope so.