The New York Times landed an interview today with Matthew Weiner, in which the Mad Men showrunner discusses the show’s finale (and finales in general), and how he intends to deal with everything once it is really all over. In case you were wondering if Matthew Weiner still gives great, somewhat dismissive quotes with staggering regularity, then answer is a definite yes. In fact, for the sake of brevity, let’s skip right over the thing where he says, “I’m not doing ‘How to Keep a Moron in Suspense’; I’m not playing that game,” and get to the good stuff.
In response to a question about whether he has “an obligation” to give each of his characters a final moment, Weiner had this to say:
I hate to say it: I don’t really feel like I owe anybody anything. I’ve been lucky to have them invite us into their home, but we have held up our end of the bargain so far. We really have, and we’ve made such a painstaking effort to surprise and delight and move machinery that tells the story.
Some shows run into difficulty trying to toe the line between artistic vision and fan service. Mad Men has never had this problem. It would have to take two buses and a taxi just to get to the line. And it will not be making that trip. You have to come to it.
Weiner also touched on the inherent difficulties with making a finale, in general, saying, “Ending a TV show is not a natural thing to do. Nobody’s happy about it.” One assumes, regardless of how the show actually ends, there will be 1,000 thinkpieces and reactions come Monday morning to back this up.
(Via New York Times)
