AT LEAST TWO CAST MEMBERS of the hugely popular and award-winning TV series Mad Men could be cut from the series, according to ongoing negotiations between creator Matthew Weiner and cable network AMC.

Weiner insists he has offered to take a salary cut instead of agreeing to the network’s plan to save money by dropping two regular cast members.

Production of the fifth series of the show has already been delayed by months due to the dispute between AMC and Weiner.

The Telegraph reports that one cast member is already unavailable for the delayed shoot – Christina Hendricks, who plays Joan Holloway.

Speaking to the Mad Men fan blog Basket of Kisses, Weiner insisted he was “fighting for the cast and for the show”, and the delayed negotiations with AMC were not about money.

He said that the network wanted to cut two cast members per season and although characters had left the series already, it hadn’t been because of money. The show was being made according to its budget, Weiner insists.

Although he has been offered a $30m deal for three years, Weiner is also reportedly objecting to plans to introduce product placement and to allow for more advertisements by reducing the show’s running time, according to the New York Times.

Read Matthew Weiner’s comments on Basket of Kisses in full >