Negotiations for season five of Mad Men are reportedly at a stand still, putting the popular show—at least as it exists now—in danger. AMC/Lionsgate is apparently fine with giving show runner/guru Matthew Weiner a whopping $30 million over a two year period... but they also have some pretty hefty demands of their own. From Deadline Hollywood:

Though Weiner is poised to become the highest-paid showrunner on basic cable, we hear that he is objecting to three things AMC/Lionsgate are asking for: integrating product placement into the series, cutting 2 minutes from each episode's running time in favor of more commercials and eliminating/reducing two regular cast members to save money. Weiner is resisting all of the above. “This is their storied franchise, and they want it shorter and cheaper, with fewer actors and more product integration,” an insider said. “The negotiations are about to collapse as a result.” Reps for Lionsgate and AMC claim negotiations with Weiner's reps continue.

So with negotiations practically at a standstill, and the season five premiere of Mad Men scheduled for this summer... what's a network to do? How about starting without Weiner? From AMC's official press release:

"AMC has officially authorized production of season 5 of Mad Men, triggering our option with Lionsgate. While we are getting a later start than in years past due to ongoing, key non-cast negotiations, Mad Men will be back for a fifth season in early 2012."

Reportedly AMC pulled this same move two years ago when they were also in the midst of difficult negotiations with Weiner. The upside? We'll get Mad Men next spring, regardless. The downside? Is a Weiner-less Mad Men worth watching?