Mad Men Was Always Supposed To Be An HBO Show, But The Channel Completely Blew It
The only hope is that the network reps have learned their lesson.
It's not uncommon for show creators to have to pitch their idea to several different networks before they finally get a deal. In an industry as cutthroat and competitive as television, a lot of content has to be filtered out so that only the best shows reach viewers. What's less common is the breakdown of established professional relationships over a script.
But that is exactly what happened between HBO and Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner.
Before starting the show that would later become a breakthrough for such amazing actors as Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss and Christina Hendricks, Matthew Weiner worked as a writer on HBO's hit The Sopranos. The writer worked on several episodes of the now classic show and always had the network in mind for his own project.
When the time came and the idea for Mad Men was written down as a pilot, he was expected to pitch it to HBO. The show fit the network's style perfectly, so Weiner was sure they'd come to some sort of agreement. What he didn't expect was that HBO executives would refuse to even read the pilot.
“It was very disappointing to me, as I pushed the rock up the hill, that they did not notice me. Because I was part of the family,” Weiner recalled in a book It’s Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, And Future Of HBO.
According to then-HBO president Carolyn Strauss, it was her fault for passing on the script, even though The Sopranos' showrunner, David Chase, had begged the network to take a look at it. What was the reason for such a rejection will forever remain unclear. The only thing that matters today is that the rejection didn't stop Mad Men from becoming a success.
The show eventually landed on AMC and found a home there. Despite the struggles to keep the show alive, Matthew Weiner, along with the cast and crew, were able to create a 16-time Emmy-winning masterpiece that lasted until 2015.
If you want to give Mad Men an honorary rewatch, you can stream the show on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: It’s Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, And Future Of HBO