January Jones' 'Mad Men' Contract Being Renewed

E! Online:

AMC's '60s-set saga was nominated for multiple Golden Globes and SAG Awards following the show's top-notch third season, and since we're as obsessed as the trophy folks with the wild world of midcentury Madison Avenue--not to mention still dwelling on that blockbuster season finale ep--we chased down Mad Men creator Matt Weiner at the Hollywood Radio and Television Society's annual Hitmakers fundraiser to grill him for exclusive insight into what went down this past year and what's to come.

Here's what we learned about the forces fueling the establishment of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, why Joan's (Christina Hendricks) not out of the woods yet, and what really sent Betty Draper (January Jones) fleeing to Reno...

Read the whole story: E! Online

Comments

[cjtolmie]

11:06 AM on 12/21/2009

I like the show, I watch it, but honestly I don't totally get it. It kinda feels like French film sometimes....all these things are "happening" but it's all so much subtext that I feel like nothing is happening. It makes me wonder if a lot of people who say they like the show are just jumping on the band wagon?

[shutterbabe]

02:31 PM on 12/20/2009

I had never heard of "Mad Men" until a couple came to our studio and wanted portraits done in the style of this show. We watched an episode so we could understand their request and build sets/lighting.

In the process, I became hooked on series. It is so beautifully stylized with fascinating character studies in an era that is reminiscent of my own childhood.

I have rented MM Series 1 and 2. Delicious to go backwards and watch the development of each personality. Such brilliant writing, terrific nuances and an outstanding cast.

[Orphie]

01:28 PM on 12/20/2009

This would have been a perfect time for the producers to part company with Ms. Jones. Far too much of season three was spent exploring the marriage. As the show evolves, Don Draper would be a much more interesting character if left to his own devices. Truth be told, Ms. Jones is the weakest actress in the ensemble and we've seen quite enough of the three emotions that she's able to portray.

[PlanetClaireDeluxe]

11:28 AM on 12/21/2009

i'm going to have to strongly disagree with you there. her character is essential to the subject of suburban dread in the 50's/60's. just consider how these women lived, what they went through on the very cusp of such an altering revolution in women's history.
we finally have something here that is well written, with, (usually), painfully, artistically and nail bitingly reserved tension that is cinematic brilliance. i would hate to see this series turned into a glorified, retro LA Law to pander to a few who only want to see sensationalistic scenes of don boinking yet another bimbo.

[Orphie]

01:14 PM on 12/21/2009

Your point about the function of the Betty character is valid. I simply feel that over three seasons it's been fully explored, the statements have been made and underscored and moving on would serve the dramatic progression of the show. I'm not advocating that Don Draper turn into Arnie Becker. The effect of divorce on his character needn't be reduced to shallowness.

[StellaRay]

12:34 PM on 12/21/2009

Those who find Betty shallow and boring are, imo, missing the brilliance of her portrayal of the perfect pre revolution house wife so uncomfortable in her own skin you can barely stand to watch. To me she is far from boring, but rather she is bored to death, as many women in that era were.

She is also a cold mother, a far cry from the "helicopter parent" standard of today, which is ironic considering the myth, still perpetuated, of those good old days when women stayed home and focused on being mothers. The Betty-Don relationship reminds me of something out of "The Women's Room," by Marilyn French---an excellent novel set in that time.

Relationships between divorced spouses who share children often get more complicated than the marriage. I look forward to seeing how Don and Betty relate as Xs, and I hope the writers at some point allow Betty the emancipation so many women of the era finally found.

[PlanetClaireDeluxe]

09:39 PM on 12/21/2009

bingo! thank you, stellaray for saying it so well.

[lillibelle]

10:28 PM on 12/19/2009

That sounds like so much fun! Who will you be? Joan would be the best ~ although the girdle and accoutrements might be hard to come by... :)

[lillibelle]

10:29 PM on 12/19/2009

The above post was a reply to Katie&Tom and their MM Party.

(Don't you just hate it when that happens? Oh, well...)

[Howie Fellinlove]

01:30 PM on 12/19/2009

Mad Men is the best show on right now. (Dexter is second, imho).

[emmapeel]

05:46 PM on 12/19/2009

I agree, but wonder what's the demographics for this show. My kids, 19 & 21 think it's one of the most boring shows on TV.

[noaxe397]

01:16 PM on 12/19/2009

There was a recent review of Mad Men in Atlantic Monthly and there the critic said January Jones was actually the shows weakest point in terms of the model-turned-actresses's ability to deliver credibility.

[StellaRay]

12:36 PM on 12/21/2009

I totally disagree. I think JJ is doing an amazing job of portraying the brittle boredom of women forced into roles they were not made for.

[elatas]

12:33 PM on 12/19/2009

Maybe newly free Don will turn into a Tiger Woods. He's already had similar experiences.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

10:05 AM on 12/19/2009

Don is a better character away from Betty, who I find dull and colourless, and not in the "bored housewife awakens" way the producers intend.

[KIVPossum]

09:42 AM on 12/19/2009

Lived in E.Europe 2.5 years. Hardest part of the move was giving up Mad Men after only 5 or 6 shows.

[TheMuckraker]

03:16 PM on 12/19/2009

I watched every episode on the intertubes. For free.

[mp3sevdam]

06:04 AM on 12/19/2009

Betty and Don will somehow reconnect and find their way back to each other.
http://sicaksexhikayeleri.inube.com/

[rzan1]

01:58 AM on 12/19/2009

I don't have a TV (by choice) so I don't get to see the current season until a year later. It sounds interesting. Too bad Betty is relying on yet another man to change her life, but I guess those were the times.

[TheMuckraker]

03:18 PM on 12/19/2009

She sure isnt finding fulfillment as a mother. She seems to dislike the kids.

[Blues02]

04:56 PM on 12/20/2009

Motherhood definitely isn't for everyone that's for sure

[Balzac]

01:37 AM on 12/19/2009

I like her.

[rzan1]

01:56 AM on 12/19/2009

Me too.

[JDM73]

09:56 PM on 12/18/2009

I hate to be shallow, I really do...but January Jones is such a cutie. I can't take my eyes off her.

[jalowe1957]

09:16 PM on 12/18/2009

Fearless prediction: By the time the show finally comes to an end, Betty and Don will somehow reconnect and find their way back to each other.

This show has opened the door for a lot of good performers, and they know it's a good thing for them.

[lillibelle]

09:56 PM on 12/18/2009

I hope not. Watching Betty without her Don-pout will be fun and I can't wait to see a how a footloose and fancy free Don changes.

[Tulka2]

07:12 PM on 12/18/2009

Look, i am an old white lady and i want to know...., "What happens to the gay guy???"

[Smirk]

08:07 PM on 12/18/2009

They better bring him back.

[lillibelle]

09:57 PM on 12/18/2009

Sal is such a juicy character ~ it's only a matter of time before we see him again.

[WakingLife]

10:52 PM on 12/18/2009

Even though MM is an excellent show, I couldn't get into it. But I loved Sal. Great character and actor. :D