New York, New York – January 13, 2008 – On Sunday, January 13th the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the winners of the 2008 Golden Globe Awards, with AMC receiving 2 for its first-ever original dramatic series, Mad Men. The network was awarded Best Television Series – Drama and Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama for Jon Hamm. The honors mark AMC's first-ever Golden Globes wins.
The following is a statement on behalf of Matthew Weiner, Series Creator and Executive Producer:
"It's an amazing experience to have an idea that you can barely put into words and then push through writing it, push five years up a hill to sell it, and then see it blossom into something better than you dreamed.
None of this happens without supportive representatives, intelligent executives and gifted artists in every position on the show. We are all extremely grateful to the Hollywood Foreign Press in what was a truly notable year in television."
The following is a statement on behalf of AMC General Manager and Executive Vice President Charlie Collier:
"We're thrilled to receive this incredible honor by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and thank them for recognizing us with this distinction.
Congratulations and thanks to Matthew Weiner for creating and writing such an outstanding series, and to Jon Hamm for bringing Don Draper to life in such a compelling way. We're incredibly proud of Mad Men and of the critical acclaim it's received, and want to extend our thanks and congratulations to the entire team that helped make the series such a success.
This is a truly momentous event for our network and a solid affirmation of our programming strategy of creating high-quality, scripted content that stands side-by-side with our extensive library of the best films of all time. We're looking forward to continuing to bring viewers distinctive, original programming with the launch of our newest series, Breaking Bad, this coming Sunday."
In addition to the Golden Globe wins, Mad Men also received three Writers Guild Association nominations including: Best Dramatic Series, Best New Series, and Best Episodic Drama; two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations including: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for Jon Hamm and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series; and a Directors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series/Night for Alan Taylor's work on the pilot episode, "When Smoke Gets in Your Eyes."
Mad Men is a smart and cinematic drama about the professional lives, social mores and sexual exploits of advertising executives on Madison Avenue circa 1960, when the industry was at its height of glamour, power, and prestige. The setting is the Sterling Cooper agency, which sells everything from cigarettes to political candidates. The protagonist, Don Draper, is a fast-rising creative director whose smooth exterior conceals any number of secrets.
The show's cast includes: Jon Hamm ('We Were Soldiers'), Elisabeth Moss ('West Wing'), Vincent Kartheiser ('Angel'), January Jones ('American Wedding'), and Christina Hendricks ('Kevin Hill'), as well as guest star John Slattery ('K Street', 'Sex and the City'). Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, produces the series with AMC's Vlad Wolynetz, Vice President of Production, Series and Movies, and Christina Wayne, Vice President of Scripted Series and Movies, overseeing the development and production of the drama.
Mad Men is AMC's first foray into original scripted series and received unprecedented accolades from the press, including being deemed the best series of 2007 by several leading publications like Time Magazine, USA Today, and The New York Times. In September the network announced that it has renewed the series for a second season which is slated to premiere in summer 2008.
Continuing its original programming momentum, AMC will premiere its newest original series, Breaking Bad, on Sunday, January 20 at 10PM (ET/PT), 9CT. The series is created by Vince Gilligan (X-Files) and follows the story of a desperate man, played by Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle), who turns to a life of crime to secure his family's financial security.
In 2006, AMC received three Golden Globe nominations for the network's first-ever original movie event, Broken Trail. The miniseries starring Robert Duvall and Thomas Hayden Church went on to garner several industry awards including four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Miniseries, Outstanding Lead Actor, Outstanding Supporting Actor, and Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries.
About AMC
AMC is a multi-platform network that celebrates classic movies and high-quality scripted series. Among the elite services reaching over 94,000,000 homes, AMC defines what it means to be a classic movie network today, creating a distinctive viewing experience that celebrates all that is enduringly cool, personal and powerfully relevant about movies. AMC's comprehensive library of popular movies strike a meaningful chord with its audience, and its critically-acclaimed slate of originals all have a cinematic quality that allow them to complement and be complemented by some of the best movies of all time. A division of Rainbow Media Entertainment Services, AMC's sister divisions include WE tv and the IFC Companies. AMC is THE FUTURE OF CLASSIC.
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world's most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, WE tv, LIFESKOOL, SPORTSKOOL, and VOOM HD Networks. Through its IFC Entertainment division, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a theatrical feature film distribution company; IFC First Take/IFC in Theaters, a day and date theatrical feature film/VOD initiative; the IFC Center in New York City; IFC Productions, a feature film production company; and IFC Entertainment, which owns and operates a film library. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales company, and Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company.