Season Four on the Horizon! - July 25th

They say April comes in like a lamb, a lamb carrying a full plate of morsels about the upcoming season four premiere of Mad Men. According to TVGuide.com’s Michael Ausiello, an expert on upcoming television news and spoilers, AMC has titled the first episode of Season Four “Public Relations," and the cameras started rolling on April 12, 2010. Ausiello’s other tidbit was particularly juicy, an announcement that the show plans on bringing three new characters of varied size and importance to the series. Weiner described the newcomers as “… 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.”

Of the three, the most intriguing may be the third description provided by Weiner, if only because ‘an affable guy lacking in personality’ seems the most boring on the surface. If we’ve learned anything from serialized television over the years, it’s that a nice, quiet character ALWAYS has a big secret to hide. A handsome and creative male? Could easily be competition for Don, who has never seemed to meet anyone close to his equal in terms of creative prowess in his department. The voluptuous but professional brunette? Perhaps the honeymoon’s over already for Roger and Jane, and he’s ready for even fresher meat. On the other end of the spectrum, perhaps we’re overemphasizing the “voluptuous” when we should be the “professional," and we have here a Peggy 2.0 to further emphasize the feminization of executive spots as the sixties progresses.

Still, many of the burning questions about season four have yet to be answered. Of course, we don’t really want any of season three’s specific cliffhangers spoiled before the premiere, but many are anticipating hearing if there will again be a fast-forward in years between seasons. The biggest question of all might be the one decided not by the writers and directors of our favorite show, but by the executives of AMC: When in the summer can we expect to have our Mad Men back? All we can say is stay tuned for July 25th!

Link referenced: The Ausiello Files