TV News: Heroes Villain Gets Lost, AMC Renews Mad Men For Fourth Season

I have some television news this morning: AMC is happy with the ratings for Mad Men and have taken steps to extend the show, and a Heroes regular is joining Lost. Details after the jump.

First up, Variety reports that AMC has decided to renew Mad Men for a fourth season, after seeing the very healthy rating numbers for the third season premiere. Creator and exec producer Matthew Weiner will remain on the series until at least January 2011, as he just signed a two year contract in January.

On to Lost..

David H. Lawrence, best known for playing the puppetmaster Eric Doyle in season three of Heroes, has revealed on Twitter that he has been cast in LOST. He later clarified, "One episode to start, maybe more. Headed to Hawaii Monday, on hold for three weeks." He revealed no more details about his character, but DarkUFO posted a casting breakdown that offers two possible roles:

MELKY: A 30 to 40 year old male, any ethnicity. Dangerous looking guy that can be surprisingly calm. Runs a seedy chop shop and not someone to be messed with; has handled many dicey situations and is not thrown by anything.

RUSSELL: A late 20s to early 40-year-old man, any ethnicity. Tough guy who takes no gruff from anyone. Executes orders efficiently but has a nice, compassionate streak that surfaces from time to time.

I stopped watching Heroes during the second season, but my friends who still choose to torture themselves week after week insist that Lawrence was one of the best parts of the third season.