RELATED: Matt Weiner: “These Are The Last Three Seasons Of ‘Mad Men'”

After some last minute saber-rattling over product placement, episode duration, possible cast cuts and the show’s return date, Mad Men creator Matt Weiner has come to an agreement with AMC and Lionsgate TV for a new three-year mega deal said to be in the $25M-$30M range. With Weiner locked in, AMC has picked up the show for two more seasons, Season 5 and Season 6, with a seventh season almost a given now that Weiner is signed for it.

In his quote in the official announcement of the deal (press release below), Weiner said, “I want to thank AMC and Lionsgate for agreeing to support the artistic freedom of myself, the cast and the crew so that we can continue to make the show exactly as we have from the beginning.” Word is he was able to get resolution from the network and the studio on the issues he had had a problem with. That included shortening the running time of the show, introducing product placement, cutting regular cast members and pushing the Season 5 premiere date to 2012. For example, AMC had been looking to cut the series’ running time from 47 to 45 minutes per episode to accommodate more commercials. In the upcoming 13-episode fifth season, the season premiere and finale will be 47 minutes, while Weiner has the option to deliver the other 11 episodes in two versions: a 45-minute one to air on AMC, and a 47-minute one to run on other platforms, including VOD. On adding product placement on the Emmy-winning drama, I hear AMC will go ahead with its plan, but introducing brands will be done only when deemed organic to the story, with Weiner having complete creative control. As for possible cast cuts, there won’t be any. There had been speculation about a request from Lionsgate for a budget cut. Some say that request has gone away at the last minute while others insist that it was more of a request for Weiner to stay on budget. Word is Weiner has often incurred overages on the show, whose production budget is said to be $2.5 million per episode. One thing that is staying as is Mad Men‘s return date. Weiner had been pushing for a 2011 premiere date for Season 5. His protracted negotiations had made it impossible for the show to keep its original summer season premiere berth.) That that won’t happen, and the show will return with originals in early 2012 as recently announced by AMC. But Weiner’s deal and the series’ pickup pave the way for the much-delayed Season 5 of Mad Men to finally go into production in July. And AMC gets to keep the series that seemingly overnight made it an original programming powerhouse and and earned it 3 consecutive best drama series Emmy Awards. Here is the joint AMC/Lionsgate release: