Well after weeks of grinding negotiation, the much ballyhooed contract between AMC/Lionsgate and Mad Men creator/show runner Matthew Weiner has finally been sealed—and you get three more seasons out of the deal! In the end this is how it all shook out:
In exchange for a whopping $3$30 million dollars, AMC wanted:
• Instituting "product placement" in the show. (Weiner refused, but agreed to offer more leeway with Mad Men-style tie-ins for their advertisers.)
• Cutting two minutes from each episode for more commercials. (Weiner agreed, except for the first and last episode of the season.)
• Cutting or severely reducing two regular castmembers. (Weiner refused, but said he would keep a much tighter rein on the cast budget. SO DOES THAT MEAN LESS SALLY DRAPER? I HOPE, I HOPE, I HOPE!)

As for why Weiner has chosen to extend the series for three more seasons and no more, here's what he told TV Guide.

"I think that's how long the story is," he tells TV Guide Magazine. "I'm not The Simpsons. They're amazing. I don't know how they do it. I look at TV shows that I admire, and I think this is the length that they should be. At a certain point you're driven to a desire not to repeat yourself. I want the show to end before the machinery has worn out."

Me? I like the British model of mostly capping series at three seasons tops (Dr. Who notwithstanding). How many seasons do YOU think a good show should last? Any shows that you think deserve more than three seasons?