"Mad Men" go back to work

AMC and Lionsgate threw a pre-SAG-Awards party for "Mad Men" Friday evening at the Chateau Marmont for the cast, writers, directors, set designers, composer and others who worked on the Golden Globe winner for Best TV Drama. Somehow, I managed to get in, as well.

Creator Matthew Weiner was there, and he actually recognized me. Of course, I recognized him, too, but his achievement was far more impressive and unexpected because he saw scores of critics at July's TV Press Tour and I saw only one creator of 2007's best show.

Weiner doesn't really have to do this, as he actually went to the trouble of creating a really cool show and not just writing about it, but he told me that he had read everything written about the show - "Sometimes, that's not such a good idea," he said self-deprecatingly - and added that he believed that critics were instrumental in keeping the show in the public eye, even when viewers weren't exactly sure how to find AMC on their cable or satellite-TV provider.

I asked him what Lionsgate's interim deal with the WGA meant for his show, and he disclosed perhaps the best news 2008 has heard to date:

"I go back to work on Monday," he said. The plan at this point is that new episodes will air by late summer.