Michael Yarish/AMC 
 
 Lionsgate, the studio behind the critically acclaimed AMC drama “Mad Men,” said Thursday that it had signed a long-term deal with the creator of the series, Matthew Weiner. 
 
 The new deal ensures that Mr. Weiner will continue running the show for two more seasons, and includes an option for a third. That option would take “Mad Men” through its seventh season. The deal was said to be worth $30 million, one of the biggest payouts of its kind in cable television. 
 
 Mr. Weiner said in an interview Thursday evening that he expected the seventh season of “Mad Men” to be its last. “That’s how long the show is,” he said. “I’m just thrilled I get to finish it.” 
 
 Past seasons of “Mad Men” have started in the summer, but AMC affirmed on Thursday that the show, which is now entering its fifth season, would not return until early 2012. 
 
 The future of “Mad Men” had been in doubt since last October when the fourth season ended and Mr. Weiner’s contract expired. Earlier this week, Mr. Weiner said that AMC was insisting on cuts to the cast budget and cuts to the length of each episode. He said in an interview on Tuesday, “All I want to do is continue to make my show, and make it in the way I want to, with the people I want to make it with.” 
 
 After that public statement, the parties involved apparently made peace pretty quickly. In a statement on Thursday evening, Mr. Weiner thanked “Mad Men” fans for their support and thanked AMC and Lionsgate “for agreeing to support the artistic freedom of myself, the cast and the crew so that we can continue to make the show exactly as we have from the beginning.” 
 
 In an interview, Mr. Weiner said his new contract stipulated that cast members “will not be cut for financial considerations,” only for creative reasons. 
 
 In a compromise of sorts, the length of the show may change, but only on television. Mr. Weiner’s new contract specifies that the first and last episode of each season will remain 47 minutes long, the same length as the episodes in previous seasons. For the episodes in between, Mr. Weiner said he will create a 45-minute version for AMC to televise, and a 47-minute “final cut” that will be available in digital formats, like in Apple’s iTunes store. 
 
 “I get to make the show the way I’ve made it” in the past, he said. 
 
 He indicated that AMC planned all along for the show to skip its usual summer premiere this year. “In October, I was told that the show would be on in March 2012,” he said, adding that his attempts to move up the start of the fifth season were stymied. The reason, according to AMC, was that it had other shows in its production pipeline. 
 
 He concluded the interview by saying, “I’m overwhelmed by the expressions of support from the fans and friends of the show. It’s been an incredible experience.” ||||| 
 
 "I'm not Don Draper, I don't have the stomach for this," said Matt Weiner about the tough negotiations surrounding his just-completed new deal to stay on as executive producer of the cult cable drama "Mad Men" for at least two seasons. 
 
 In an interview, Weiner said his issues with AMC, the cable network that airs "Mad Men" and Lionsgate, the production company behind the show, was not about how much he was getting paid. "Mad Men" is AMC's signature show and follows the lives of ad men in 1960s New York who struggle to adjust to the social and political changes going on around them. It has won three Emmy Awards for best drama. 
 
 "It is beyond money for me, I didn't want to make something that wasn't the show," he said. Weiner's deal will pay him close to $10 million per season, according to people familiar with the terms. 
 
 Weiner, who was under pressure from AMC and Lionsgate to trim costs and be open to adding additional commercial breaks to "Mad Men" said his battle "was always about trying to keep doing the show the way we've done the show." 
 
 There was some compromise from the hands-on producer. While the first and last episodes of the next season of "Mad Men" will run 47 minutes, the rest of the episodes will run 45 minutes, giving AMC a chance to make more money from commercials. Weiner will be able to film 47 minute episodes though for DVDs, iTunes and video on demand. 
 
 Weiner was also resistant to having to trim production costs and potentially lose cast members. The deal for "Mad Men" with AMC runs for two seasons with the current cast. 
 
 "The cast will be intact and people's characters will only leave the story if it suits the story creatively," he said. If the bulk of the cast is on board for a third season, then Weiner will return as well. 
 
 RELATED: 
 
 'Mad Men' creator Matt Weiner agrees to new deal 
 
 Talks stall between "Mad Men" creator Matt Weiner and AMC, Lionsgate 
 
 Full Show Tracker coverage of 'Mad Men' 
 
 -- Joe Flint 
 
 Top photo: Actor Jon Hamm plays hard-drinking advertising executive Don Draper in AMC's "Mad Men." Credit: AMC 
 
 Bottom photo: "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner. Credit: Francois Durand / Getty Images 
 

– Mad Men will be back with creator Matthew Weiner at the helm for two more seasons and possibly a third. After tough negotiations, Weiner has signed a deal with AMC and Lionsgate believed to be worth around $30 million, reports the New York Times. The cable hit's fifth season will begin in early 2012. The deal ensures a sixth season and has an option for a seventh, which Weiner says he expects will be the last. "That’s how long the show is," he says. "I'm just thrilled I get to finish it." "I'm not Don Draper, I don't have the stomach for this," Weiner—who was under pressure to cut costs—said of the negotiations. He says the new contract includes a stipulation that cast members will only be cut for creative reasons, not financial ones. "The cast will be intact and people's characters will only leave the story if it suits the story creatively," he tells the Los Angeles Times.