TVSquad

It's hard to say that a show that's already won a small U-Haul's worth of Emmys and other awards can be having a breakout season, but that seems to be what's happening with Mad Men during its third season. The buzz around the show has been as loud as we've heard since The Sopranos went to black, and that's not a coincidence; the man who created the early-1960s world of Sterling Cooper, Matt Weiner, was a writer on the landmark HBO drama.

Weiner just completed shooting season three, and he took time out of his post-production process to sit down with me on Monday and talk about how the season has been going so far. I tried to get him to talk about what seems to be the show's inevitable roll towards the cataclysmic event of 1963, the Kennedy assassination, but Weiner was tight-lipped as usual. However, his observations on how he approaches events like that is an interesting read. Oh, and we also touch upon how he came up with the idea to run over a British ad exec's foot with a lawn mower, which is a good story by itself...

Looks like Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas already has a new job. He told E!'s Kristin Veitch that he has been brought on as executive producer and show-runner for the ABC midseason comedy Miss/Guided.

Miss/Guided is a single-camera sitcom staring Judy Greer (Love Monkey). She plays a former high school nerd that comes back to her alma mater as a guidance counselor and finds that high school is still high school, even for the adults. It was created by Caroline Williams, a writer on The Office; I'm guessing Thomas is being brought on to guide this show with an experienced hand, since Williams has never run a show before.

There are just some shows that get in creative troubles from day one; look at what happened last year with Commander in Chief. Well, it looks like another ABC show is having some problems right out of the gate. Marti Noxon, the executive producer and show runner for Brothers & Sisters, a new show starring Calista Flockhart, has left the show, reportedly over conflicts with the show's creator. The show, which is set to air Sundays at 10, is reported to still be in production, though a new show runner hasn't been named.

Remember, a couple of casting changes have already been announced for this show, including the casting of Sally Field as the mother of those brothers and sisters in the title. She replaced Betty Buckley, who played the role in the pilot.

Not a good sign for a show in such a high profile slot, is it?