Some of you may have heard a rumour that Maria Jacquemetton, Head of the Writing Department, has been in L.A. working on a series. It’s true! Maria, along with her husband and writing partner Andre, are Writers and Producers on Mad Men – the new AMC drama created by Sopranos Exec Producer Matthew Weiner.

The show’s description from its website: “Set in 1960 New York, Mad Men pulls the viewer into an unexpected new world – the high-powered and glamorous “Golden Age” of advertising – where everyone is selling something and nothing is ever what you expect it to be.” For a better sense of the show, check out the trailer and behind-the-scenes footage (including a look at the writers at work!).

Got your own questions for Maria? See the end of this post!

In the meantime, we asked Maria to tell us a bit about the process of writing for Mad Men. She says:

“A typical day for the writers depends on where we are in the production schedule. The writing staff may gather in the writers room in the morning and spend the better part of the day as a group, breaking the story for an episode, talking about the series arc and the character arcs for the various principal cast members, and catching up on everybody’s personal lives. Ordering lunch is also important (the staff has working lunches most days!). Sometimes we will take a break to watch dailies (shot footage of the current episode in production) or walk down to the two stages where Mad Men is shot to watch filming.

The writers will split off from the group individually, or in my case as a team with my writing partner Andre Jacquemetton, to write the script for the episode we’ve been assigned by the show runner. When it comes time for your episode to be produced, you spend a week in prep: pre-production meetings, casting, location scouting, table reading of the script by the cast with department heads and network representatives present.

Then you’re on the set for the seven-day shoot, from call time in the morning to wrap time at night. Your job on the set is to answer questions that the director or actors might have about the scenes, dialogue, or story, but your primary responsibility is to keep the Executive Producer, Matthew Weiner, filled in on what’s being shot, the actors’ performances, and the episode’s progress. The show is his vision and as a writer on staff it’s your responsibility to make sure that his intent is captured and maintained.”

Sounds like a grueling schedule – and a dream schedule for many would-be TV writers out there!

And now we’re going to try something a little different, here at VFS Blog HQ. Maria has agreed to answer some of your questions. Just drop a question into the comments below, and Maria will answer a Q & A for us in the next week or two. So if you’ve got questions about working on this series, or TV shows in general, let’s hear ‘em!

Don’t wait – we’ll only be collecting questions for the next week. And keep in mind that there’s only so much Maria can say about the storylines on Mad Men. To find out what happens, you’re going to have to watch the show’s premiere like everybody else – AMC, July 19 at 10 PM.