“Mad Men” creator Matt Weiner is reportedly saying that the hit cable series will end in 2012 after six seasons.
The show just began taping Season 4, which is set to debut in July.
Because “Mad Men” has only recently begun to find an audience after several seasons of high praise but low ratings, there has never been any serious talk about when the story of a 1960s ad agency might end.
But according to the Web site theweeklyblend.com, Weiner let it drop during an appearance at the National Association of Broadcasters convention last week that his plans are to wrap up the series after six seasons.
The news that he wanted to end the story of Don Draper and the Sterling Cooper ad agency in 2012 was “revealed rather unceremoniously while talking about the show’s twists and turns,” the Web site reported.
A spokesman for AMC, the cable network that carries the show, could not be reached yesterday.
Fans of the show yesterday seemed to accept the news with understanding, judging from comments on AMC’s Web site.
“I deeply respect TV shows that end before they decline,” wrote a poster named Nelle.
“It makes sense,” wrote another fan, jmac9. “I don’t think we want to see [‘Mad Men’] at the disco.”