Ad geeks everywhere can stop holding their breath. Matthew Weiner finally worked out a deal with Lionsgate TV and AMC for two more seasons. Yay! Apparently it took Lionsgate a while to get over the sticker shock as Weiner was asking for 6 million dollars (4 million more than the last contract).   AMC ended up putting up some of the money to make it happen. So, with more money and a bigger budget for the show let’s hope he can deliver.  The word is, a contract was signed in time for the third season to start on time this summer.  Assuming the show progress from the first two seasons, we should start out in 1963. There are a lot of interesting things that happened in ’63 and if season 3 is anything like season 1 and 2, national (and international) affairs will likely be a backdrop for the drama to play out.

A few things that happened in 1963:

• Racial tensions continue to escalate. Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his I have a dream speech.
• The US starts sending troops into Vietnam in an advisory role.
• The pope dies.
• President John F. Kennedy is assassinated.
• The space race continues

As for the advertising, who knows. Maybe Don will try to sell the world on TaB.