Image Credit: Frank Ockenfels 3/AMCIt looks like the fledgling Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce advertising agency is staffing up!
Casting for Mad Men‘s upcoming fourth season has begun and, according to sources, boss Matthew Weiner is adding three new potentially recurring characters. The rookie trio includes…
… a handsome and creative male; a voluptuous, curvy, and cute brunette who is friendly but professional; and an affable guy who is a bit lacking in personality.
Production on the season premiere — tentatively titled “Public Relations” — is scheduled to get underway on April 12.
WOW seriously? After last season showing WAAAY less of our other characters, they had every nerve to add THREE MORE?
How dare these brilliant creators make choices without checking with you first!
I think you have a point, I have the same concerns about Parks and Rec adding on new characters (Rob Lowe – ugh) when the cast they have now just found its groove this season and balances everyone so well
But nobody cares about Jerry or the fat black lady on Parks.
i love jerry!
jerry is one of the best characters on television!
I care about Donna and Jerry :[
Think about season 3 of The Office here – adding Karen and Andy really kept the show’s dynamic fresh, and the show tresses water for a while with no new catalysts. Then Amy Ryan came and Idris Elba came and they produced some good stuff, highlights of the otherwise rough season 5. Then, we had Erin board as a regular, and she and Andy have since been a highlight.
blasphemy! Jerry and Donna ROCK!
We have a Don and Joan…we don’t need new ones…Bring back Sal, with his wife. This is the 60′s…this was NOT an open society. Everyone tries to cram every polical aspect into a show… Stick with what is good. Stay real to the times.
Here is one of my predictions for season 4. Paul Kinsey becomes a famous author for exposing the secrets of the advertising world (like ice cubes are secretly full of sexy ladies) and he goes on the college lecture circuit.
Listen Mad Men writers and listen carefully: BRING BACK SAL!!!
BRING BACK SAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, bring back Sal!!
SAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We want SAL back! Bring back Sal!!
BRING BACK SAL!!! I was sooo angry when they blind-sided us with his departure.
Sal was the most authentic, sensitive guy in the place, even if he wasn’t out of the closet…yet.
Sal was not that sensitive. He laughed and joined in when Freddy got fired. He made fun of Peggy being fat- I’m sad he’s gone- but lets not forget what he did.
yea they need to find a way to bring him back
Yes!
I doubt they’re not going to bring back Sal. His character represents way too much, especially in the changing cultural environment, to simply write out.
Of course they’ll bring back Sal, an ad agency can’t run without an Art Director.
Go after Adrian Pasdar. Jon Hamm & Adrian Pasdar would be great together.
Oh my God, I just said this out loud while reading the article! AP would fit right in.
That’s such a good call. I’m actually amazed by the very idea, now that I think about it.
SCDP took Lucky Strike with them, right? Thus, no Sal.
Some characters needed to be retired. I think they took the best ones with them, and I’m ready for some fresh blood.
Writers can bring back anybody. Who’s to say there won’t be a change of hands at Lucky Strike? Or that the account won’t be dropped somehow. There’s many ways to bring Sal back Patty.
Matt Weiner has said in several interviews that Sal will not be back as a regular, but he’s not ruling out an episode.
I like Sal too, but that was the largest account at the agency, and the Lucky Strike owners son. There will be new characters to fall in love with.
Yeah, Matt Weiner has said that Sal won’t be back. But he also said he wasn’t going to center an episode around the Kennedy assassination, and he did. He can change his mind if he wants to.
They can tangle Lucky Strike Jr. in a gay scandal somewhere else or give him a heart attack or set fire to his bed by accident and bring back Sal in a flash. Or let Sal get hired elsewhere and do something which brings him into direct competition with Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and that way at least give us scenes. Wait, I’ve got it. Sal meets and falls in love with a hugely wealthy fashion designer who could bring a bigger account to SCDP than Lucky Strike, and the designer won’t give them his account unless they rehire Sal.
There — I’ve solved the story problem. Even if they don’t bring Sal back to the ad agency, I would still like to know how he and Kitty are doing (or if they’re still together) and what happens to Sal as we move into the mid-60s. There’s so much story left with him.
Betty, I don’t care. She can ride off into the sunset with her sugar daddy, as long as Sally gets to spend lots of time with Don and on our screens. Sal and Rachel are the ones I want to see again.
Jules…
To reply to your comment that you’ve “solved the story problem”, I think you are somewhat unclear on the sixties if you posit that a fashion designer — ANY such designer at that time could out-do a huge tobacco product in terms of billable hours and placements. I liked Sal too, and regret his demise from SC… but think it highly unlikely that we see him or Rachel again. As has been said before, this is not a soap opera.
Wow, you’re a complete idiot. Submit that ridiculous situation to the writers of DAYS OF OUR LIVES; I’m sure they’ll love it.
Mad Men isn’t a soap opera! Ugh.
Calm down! I think Jules was just giving a random example–not one that he meticulously researched or necessarily thinks would fit the show. He’s just saying that these tremendously talented writers could certainly come up with a story that would work Sal back in. It’s not like the character is dead and there are no story options. (At least, as far as we know!)
Why in the world did they get rid of Sal in the first place? His storyline was ripe for further development and just getting going. Anybody read anything about why?
I don’t know. They’ve signed on Ken Cosgrove again, and he didn’t migrate to the new agency. Michael Gladis hasn’t said anything but I doubt we’ve seen the end of Paul Kinsey, either. I don’t know, it’s not like Sterling-Cooper is just going to pretend that it lost most of its main players and ignore the new agency. If anything it’s a reason for Sal to come back, but on the Sterling-Cooper side, because now there’s no conflict.
oh my gosh. yessss ken is one of my faves. he has not even been properly defined. besides his easy demeanor and his writing talents, we know so little of him. i want moreeee
Yup, I bet take all that air time they used to spend on the painful day to day of Don’s marriage and spend it (more wisely in my opinion) on the McCann cast. Besides, they can’t leave Kinsey out of the ’64 civil rights legislation!
Real scoop or joke?
Can we please not have as much Betty this season? I really don’t want to watch her new life with Henry, they are the most boring couple ever.
why are you so bitter?
P is entitled to her opinion that Betty is boring and s/he would like to see less of her without being subjected to a personal attack. I happen to agree that Betty was overexposed last season and that the Henry/Betty storyline is uninteresting, but I’m not bitter about it. I doubt that P is bitter either.
Yeah, what vl said.
Betty has a slow burn factor that is central to the period Mad Men is dissecting – she’s symbolic of the journey that women took from the 60′s to the 70′s and the changes they made in the world and their own role within it. Remember how passive she was in the beginning – going along to a psychiatrist because of ‘her’ dysfunction? She would never go along with that now. There are flashes of real eroticism with Betty (e.g. Rome) and an occasional sense of real power. Perhaps she hasn’t fully come into her own yet – but that’s kind of the point – losing her naivety and gradually assuming her rights. OK it’s bit by bit – but it’s fundamentally strong. Also, it’s still very tied up with a dependence on men but that was econoic reality at the time – and I’ll bet that she outgrows that pattern by the time Mad Men finally concludes. It’s probably what will cause Don Draper to jump off a tall building in the very last episode of Mad Men.
Maria in London – I totally agree with everything you’ve said about Betty. She’s a fascinating and important character, though her faults are vividly painted and can be alienating at times.
Betty is soooo boring.
She’s way more interesting than Don.
I second this. Can we someow have less Betty without losing Salamander and Bobby?
Are you joking? She’s their mother.
Yes. We need less of Betty. I was getting tired of their marriage. I know u r supposed to root for them to stay toghether but by now it was at a stage where u were liken Don just leave her and move on. Only thing u need to look for is kids & that’s it. Especially after she started seeing another man. Cheating on both sides: Don isn’t a guy who can live with one woman & that who is. So i am glad they seperated them. I hope Don doesn’t try too much to get her back. By the way Don’s is Ann Rand style of character.
b; i can’t understand u saying Bette is way more interesting than Don and u r still a fan of Mad Men?? I mean Betty is a good character (esp in season 2 perhaps)but the show revolves around Don and he is the sun..
It’s time to divorce this story line. We know, their relationship is a nightmare, and we’re getting tired of being dragged into it. Betty would be much more interesting if she wasn’t pouting about Don all the time. Can we see her happy please? I say bring back the pigeon rifle.
I think that Henry will be taken out of the picture early on in season 4. Don out carousing has no impact if he’s single. There’s no tension. I think Henry will die suddenly or be arrested for some political wrong-doing. Remember, Betty declined to take any settlement from Don because Henry said he would take care of her. With Henry out of the picture, Betty, with two children would have no choice but to return to Don with hat in hand.
nah.. the bridge is burnt. It’s like fixing a broken glass; it will never be same and you are better of just remembering how good it was when it was complete. The end of season 2 and whole season 3 was back & forth for their relationship and finally they settled it. As Don says– in life u move forward not backwards!!
I do not think Betty is indicative of a woman of the 60s….at least where I came from. Perhaps some aspects. They would of had her on librax or something similar. I think she is exactly what Don said, a spoiled brat. Geesh! The scenes with that little boy make me ill. That is just down right sick. She has screwed those kids up for life. Sally Drapper will tell Henry many, many times “You are NOT my father”!!!!!!!!
I’m for this!! Hentry and Betty a re boring…I am not sure but she kicked him out and wondered where he went. Duh!
Where can I get my SCDP tshirt? I don’t want a generic one. Anyone know if the real deal is out there? I want to break it in before season 4 premeire!
I’ve only seen one style of this t-shirt and the ampersands are out of control. You may be better off doing your own home made.. Good luck!
Is this FINALLY the year we get to glimpse more than a hint of Joanie’s MASSIVE sweater puppies?
you are gross
Stick to DEXTER and TRUE BLOOD, simpleton.
She spends some time in the near buff in an episode of Firefly… Go get your DVD box set on.
I think Nestor Carbonell would make a perfect addition to the Mad Men cast. Write a part for him! I also would like to see a young Roger Sterling miniseries.
Where the hell are my comments?!?
Oh yeah, Mad Men, woot.
They already have supporting characters who don’t get enough screen time.
I hope Don gets lung cancer
are you kidding me…?
Totally!
I seriously will not watch Mad Men unless they BRING BACK SAL!!!!!! I can’t believe they canned the ONE character with an interesting plotline!
I liked Sal, too, but if you thought he was the only character with an interesting plotline, you live a very narrow life.
Then I guess you won’t be watching Mad Men anymore.
All I want is more Joan!
Hear hear!
I hope her husband…goes off to Vietnam, meets someone and never comes back. They are horribly mismatched. She is OK by me.
Yes, Joan is so underused. She’s one of the best characters on T.v. and we barely see her. Not to mention that Joan and Roger together are brilliant, as much potential there as with Scarlet and Rhett, though of a different kind. They need to get those two back together!