We try not to post too much in the way of television-specific news here on Film Junk, but Mad Men is a show that I know a lot of people have been following, and this is one piece of news that they’ll most definitely want to hear. You’re probably already aware that the second season of Mad Men has just wrapped up on AMC and seems to have been fairly well-received (No spoilers please! Some of us are still on season 1). However, it looks like the third season of Mad Men could potentially spark a massive outrage from fans as there’s a possibility that AMC may divorce series creator Matthew Weiner from his own show.

According to Nikki Finke at Deadline Hollywood Daily, Lionsgate has been calling around Hollywood in search of a new showrunner to take over for Weiner next year. The reason? Weiner has reportedly asked for a hefty raise; specifically, a multi-year deal that would net him $10 million a year, PLUS control over promotion and advertising. I don’t know what a typical showrunner earns, but that sounds like a lot of cash. Finke says that a deal like that might be reasonable for a premium network like HBO, but not for AMC. And so, they’ve done the only thing they can do… started looking for possible replacements.

I’m assuming that this is more posturing than anything else, because let’s face it — they’d be crazy to let Weiner walk. They’ve obviously got something special on their hands, as not only was it the first basic cable show to win Best Drama award at the Emmys, but it’s a show that everyone’s talking about. However, the fact is that Mad Men doesn’t have outstanding ratings (about 1.5 million viewers a week). It does seem like Matthew Weiner may be asking for a little too much. Either way, let’s hope they can settle this in time for the next season, because otherwise the show could be sabotaged just before it really hits its stride.

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