Mad Men

American period drama television series

Mad Men (July 19, 2007 – May 17, 2015) is an American television drama series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on July 19, 2007 on the American cable television network AMC. The seventh and final season had 14 episodes that will be split into two seven-episode parts. These begin airing in early 2014 and early 2015.[1] The first half of the final season premiered on April 13, 2014, and the second half of the final season ended on May 17, 2015.

Mad Men is set in the 1960s. The scene is the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City. Later it becomes the newly created company, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (later Sterling Cooper & Partners). According to the show's pilot, the phrase "Mad men" was a slang term started in the 1950s by advertisers working on Madison Avenue to refer to themselves. This claim has since been denied.[2] The main character is Don Draper (Jon Hamm), creative director at Sterling Cooper and a founding partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. The plot focuses on the business of the advertising agency as well as the personal lives of the characters.

Mad Men has received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its historical authenticity, visual style, costume design, acting, writing, and directing. The show has won many awards, including fifteen Emmys and four Golden Globes. It is the first basic cable series to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, winning it in each of its first four seasons.[3] In 2013, TV Guide ranked it sixth in its list of the sixty greatest dramas of all time.[4] It was ranked seventh in a list of the 101 best-written TV series of all time by the Writers Guild of America.[5]

References

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  1. Snierson, Dan (September 17, 2013). "Final season of 'Mad Men' to be split in half, air in 2014 and 2015". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  2. Frank, Thomas (December 22, 2013). "'Ad absurdum and the conquest of cool: Canned flattery for corporate America'". Salon.com. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  3. Joyce Eng (September 20, 2009). "Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Cryer Win First Emmys". TVGuide.com. Retrieved September 20, 2009.
  4. Roush, Matt (February 25, 2013). "Showstoppers: The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time". TV Guide: 16–17.
  5. "'101 Best Written TV Series Of All Time' From WGA/TV Guide: Complete List". Deadline.com. June 2, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.