As The Calendar Turns…
The Actor’s Contracts Will Run Out And Need Renegotiating In Order For The Show To Go On…
All the actors on Mad Men are under TV acting contracts, of course. These contracts are due to expire soon, yet the series is scheduled for another season, at least. (That’s as far as we know.)
…Deadline is looming – the options on the cast expire at the end of the month. That certainly complicates things as the producing studio may have to make a decision on the cast before the show’s future is certain. But if you can’t imagine Mad Men without Jon Hamm or Elisabeth Moss or January Jones or John Slattery, you don’t have to. While it appears that there may not be a deal for the show’s renewal by the end of the month, I hear Lionsgate fully intends to exercise the actors’ options before the Dec. 31 deadline. That is a good sign that the studio anticipates that Mad Men will be back for a fifth season. Negotiations on Weiner’s previous deal with Lionsgate two years ago dragged well into January and closed days after Mad Men triumphed at the Golden Globes for a third consecutive year as best drama series. This week, the period drama landed 3 Golden Globe nominations: for best drama series, best actor Hamm and best actress Moss, as well as 3 SAG Award nominations: for best drama series cast, best drama actor, Hamm and best drama actress, Moss.
Ensemble Cast Of Actors From 'Mad Men'
- This puts the actors in an extremely strong position to negotiate. The strongest. They can ask for the moon.
The acting cast of ‘Mad Men’ are established. The actors are integral to the story. They are currently nominated for awards, and have won awards in the past. The show is a hit.
The show is going on…And it can’t go on without them.
The actors of ‘Mad Men’ can ask for the moon and stars too. And they just may.
Why? Besides that they can, and should collect while they are in that position because it may not come around again in their respective acting careers, not like this…
But also, didn’t Matthew Weiner say he is ending the show?
That it won’t be going on returning after next season?
I am guessing that when their agents negotiated the contracts of these actors, way back before ‘Mad Men’ was on the air?
If so, their acting contracts were negotiated when they weren’t such stars. Mostly, they were unknowns, so they had little leverage. They hadn’t created these characters yet; they hadn’t been embraced by the public. Their starting negotiations, even for TV leads, were for unknown series regulars. (I didn’t see their contracts, so I don’t know any private or specifics about their individual deals. I am only going on the knowledge of how the business works, and how actors’ contracts are negotiated.)
Therefore, they may have been paid nicely, but it’s not a network show. That means, it’s not television network pay. That means, it’s much less.
I’m thinking that, to these actors, their pay started to matter more, after they became iconic in those ‘Mad Men’ roles. After these particular people became synonymous with the characters they played. Those actors are the characters. The show is nothing without them, except of course, masterful great scripts. (And, by the way, Showrunner Matthew Weiner’s contract is up at the same time this month, too.)
So.
With perhaps very few shows yet to collect great pay on, and a rare situation of great negotiating power for any actor in any acting career…I hope they go for it. Their acting is are worth it.
The proof is in the pudding. No one can deny what a delicious pudding it is, and no one will.
Best,
Dana
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