Only two years have passed since “Mad Men” and the saga of Don Draper ended its run on AMC, but the impact was huge. In addition to being at the forefront of what would become known as the new Golden Age Of Television, the drama from Matthew Weiner also helped establish the network as a competitor to HBO which, nearly a decade ago when “Mad Men” launched, was in a much different TV landscape than it is today. The big question that has followed since the show went off the air is: What would Weiner do next? Well, he did attempt to go into feature films with “Are You Here,” and the result is probably best not discussed; and he’s got a novel called “The Totality” slated to be published in 2017. And now he’s now headed back to the small screen with a project that sounds quite intriguing.
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The Weinstein Company and Amazon have dropped $70 million and a straight-to-series order for Weiner’s new, untitled show. For those hoping for another period-based effort, you might be disappointed to learn the show will be set in present day; however, it will join an emerging trend as an anthology series, and it will have worldwide settings. Weiner will write and produce the show, and is expected to direct half of the episodes as well.
This is a major get for Amazon as they look to bolster their prestige TV offerings beyond “Transparent” and “Mozart In The Jungle,” while keeping up with Netflix’s ever-increasing slate of programming. No word yet on when production will begin, but Weiner’s show will be one to keep an eye on. [Deadline]