Want TV without (much) product placement? Then watch Mad Men

They’re bringing Sexy Back. Or, to give it its other name, Mad Men. With Jon Hamm, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Elisabeth Moss and John Slattery in its cast, there really is someone for everyone on this show.

The excellent news is that showrunner Matthew Wiener does not have to cave in to earlier network demands to lose two key cast members or overload the Sterling Cooper office with product placement. The thought of Don Draper with an iPod or – shudders – driving a Vauxhall Cavalier does not bear consideration. Sometimes a TV show can be like a football club, a government, a bank. It runs out of cash. This appears to have happened with ABC’s middle-class soap (“family drama” would be kind) Brothers & Sisters (also on Channel 4 and More 4 in the UK). Through its five seasons, mainly for the performances of Matthew Rhys and Six Feet Under’s Rachel Griffiths, it has been like a beige Dallas that took its shoes off before it went in the house. It’s a fairly undemanding hour.

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The law of diminishing returns is certainly at play here. Early series guest stars such as Danny Glover and Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Cheryl Hines have given way to the likes of Rob Kazinsky from EastEnders. Cast big-hitters Rob Lowe and two of the Walker brothers, Balthazar Getty and Luke Grimes, have gone. Cast regulars Ron Rifkin and Ken Olin do not appear for episodes at a time, while others – like the French boyfriend – have upped sticks for three months to paint a mural in China. The Walkers have yet to move from Pasadena to Compton in South Central LA, but you don’t need to have persisted with Brothers & Sisters to recognise the symptoms. Even the glittery world of Planet Showbiz has to budget for sequins. You may have seen your favourite actor in a recurring drama suddenly bumped off by writers. Chances are that may be budget. You see this most commonly in reality television where the star wattage for the last series of Strictly Come Dancing (Mrs Billy Connolly, the ex-Mrs Liam Gallagher, the ex-Mr Charlotte Church) had to be turned up, and the fees restructured in after a sports presenter from the BBC's Breakfast won an underwhelming previous series. Or where ITV2 ditched Jordan for the cheaper (only in financial terms, lest anyone is offended) option of Kerry Katona. If the latest offering of light entertainment fluff is hosted by Nick Knowles, it’s not inconceivable they wanted Vernon Kay. If it’s hosted by Vernon Kay, it’s not inconceivable they wanted Brucie or Graham Norton. In the movies, it’s why Highlander II features less Sean Connery not more, it’s why James Cameron went for Sam Worthington rather than Crowe or DiCaprio in Avatar, and why the new Superman and Spiderman are British character actors. In music, pennies have to be watched particularly when a band moves record company. Travis don’t make promo clips like this any more now they’re on their own record company. Michael Jackson had long since stopped making his videos with Marlon Brando and Macaulay Culkin before the llamas got fed. Britney’s latest involves no location, some shameless money-spinning product placement and a Radio Rentals shop full of her previous, seemingly more expensive, clips. With product placement on British TV a thing of the future, viewers here will have a clearer sense on whether their favourite show is running out of cash. Money makes the world of entertainment go round, and in these times, there are certain giveaways which show why the wheel is moving slower on certain shows, or records, or movies. Why else would James Bond drive a Ford Mondeo?

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