• Entertainment Weekly, Tuesday, March 29, 2011 3:15 PM

AMC announced today that the most famous ad men since Larry Tate and Miles Drentell will definitely be back on the air in early 2012 -- though perhaps without the aid of the characters' creator, Matt  Weiner.  Entertainment Weekly reports that AMC has released a statement officially authorizing production of season 5 of "Mad Men," while noting "ongoing, key non-cast negotiations" -- presumably with Weiner.

Meanwhile, The Daily gives Weiner's side of the story.   The money quote, from a creative source: "Weiner is being completely screwed by AMC," since the network is mandating budget cuts like shaving off two minutes from every episode and firing two actors. All these changes should help make AMC sound more profitable for the upcoming IPO of the Cablevision subsidiary that houses AMC, Rainbow Media Holdings.

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