In the past 25 years, the world has been treated to some of the finest workplace dramas of all time. From the effortlessly cool Suits and the beautifully chaotic The Bear to a pair of Apple TV’s finest in Ted Lasso and the mind-bending Severance, viewers can’t get enough of intricate storytelling and unique characters, and the blend of their personal and professional lives. However, in the 21st century, there is perhaps no better workplace drama than Mad Men.
A groundbreaking series that catapulted its stars into the mainstream, Mad Men is near perfection in both the grand and the small, from the overall character arcs to individual episodes, like Season 4, Episode 7, “The Suitcase.” The series boasts a stand-out ensemble, featuring the likes of Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, John Slattery, Christina Hendricks, January Jones, Kiernan Shipka, and many more, as well as the writing talents of some of the best in the business. For the somehow uninitiated, a synopsis of Mad Men reads:
“In 1960s New York, alpha male Don Draper struggles to stay on top of the heap in the high-pressure world of Madison Avenue advertising firms. Aside from being one of the top ad men in the business, Don is also a family man, the father of young children.”
‘Mad Men’ Won Many Awards
There’s simply no questioning the incredible and sustained quality of Mad Men. This quality led to rightful critical acclaim, including a critics’ score of 94% and 95% from audiences on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The show wasn’t just a success on said review site; it also won an enormous number of prizes across its 92 episodes. The series earned 13 Golden Globe nominations, including a back-to-back trio of wins for Best Television Series – Drama in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Hamm himself won two Golden Globes for the series, amazingly eight years apart in 2008 and 2016.
It was at the Primetime Emmys where Mad Men scored the most high-profile success, earning an eye-watering 116 nominations. Of these, the series took home 16 awards, including four in the Outstanding Drama Series category. The 1960s-set show was also the first basic cable series to win the Outstanding Drama Series award when it took home the trophy in 2008. A record the series would rather forget, however? Becoming the series with the most nominations in one year (17) to not win a single trophy.
Mad Men is coming to HBO Max this December.
Release Date
2007 – 2015-00-00
Network
AMC
Directors
Michael Uppendahl, Jennifer Getzinger, Scott Hornbacher, Matthew Weiner, Lesli Linka Glatter, Tim Hunter, John Slattery, Alan Taylor, Andrew Bernstein, Jon Hamm, Barbet Schroeder, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Ed Bianchi, Jared Harris, Matt Shakman, Lynn Shelton
Writers
Jonathan Igla, Robin Veith, Carly Wray, Kater Gordon, Bridget Bedard, Cathryn Humphris, Chris Provenzano, Brett Johnson, Rick Cleveland, Tracy McMillan, Andrew Colville, David Iserson