How to watch and stream Mad Men
Stylish, funny, sexy and suspenseful, watching advertising agency drama Mad Men is like time-travelling to 1960s New York. Here's how to stream the seven-season series and what it's about
Mad Men, the seven-season series about a 1960s New York advertising agency stars Jon Hamm as the charismatic and mysterious Don Draper and was instantly hailed as must-watch television when it launched in 2007. Stylish and sexy, Mad Men set real-world trends as it enraptured audiences with its complex characters, wit and engaging, slow-burn storylines.
But how and where can you watch it all? We've got all the info you need.
How many seasons of Mad Men are there?
There are seven seasons of Mad Men. The series premiered in 2007 and ran until 2015 and there are 92 episodes in total.
How can I watch Mad Men?
You can also purchase the complete series on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon or if you rather just stream them then head on over to Prime Video where all seven seasons are currently available for your viewing pleasure.
What is Mad Men about?
Mad Men is set at Sterling Cooper, a fictional advertising agency on New York City’s Madison Avenue. The series begins in 1960 when Peggy Olson arrives at the agency to start her new job as secretary to executive Don Draper.
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Don — charming, rebellious and cool — seems to play by a different set of rules, and is hiding secrets about his past. Meanwhile, things aren’t going as planned for Peggy. On the positive side, she seems to have a talent for copywriting, but the creative team feels like a boys’ club, tensions are running high with office manager Joan, and Peggy isn’t sure what to do about her flirtation with engaged co-worker Pete Campbell, who seems determined to uncover the truth about Don.
The show follows Don, the agency and its employees over the course of a tumultuous decade at work, at home and in a rapidly changing world.
A drama with a strong sense of humour and a stellar ensemble cast, the show addresses everything from feminism to the Korean War while always keeping its strong storylines and complex characters at its heart.
Mad Men’s popularity in part stems from its meticulous attention to period style and detail, leaving viewers with a sense of travelling in a time machine back to a world of chic clothes, classic cocktails and cool convertibles.
When is Mad Men set?
The first season of Mad Men is set at the dawn of a new decade: the 1960s. The show, which covers events through to 1970, addressed a number of real-life historical events during its run, including the approval of birth control, the civil rights movement, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Kennedy assassination, the Moon landing and the Vietnam War.
Who is in the cast of Mad Men?
Mad Men turned Jon Hamm, who plays Don Draper, into a household name, and earned him Emmy and Golden Globe awards for leading actor. Though he is now synonymous with his brooding, dramatic breakout role, Hamm is equally gifted as a comedic actor and has starred in films like Bridesmaids and Keeping Up with the Joneses.
The Handmaid’s Tale’s Elisabeth Moss stars as secretary-turned-copywriter Peggy Olson while John Slattery (Spotlight, Veep) plays caddish agency boss Roger Sterling.
Pete Campbell, the ambitious but often misunderstood junior executive, is played by Vincent Kartheiser (Connor from 'Angel', The OA). and Christina Hendricks (Tin Star, Good Girls) stars as fiery office manager Joan Harris.
Actress and model January Jones (The Last Men on Earth) plays Don Draper’s wife, Betty while other cast members include Aaron Staton (Narcos: Mexico) as Ken Cosgrove, Rich Sommer (Glow) as Harry Crane, Kiernan Shipka (The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) as Sally Draper, and Alison Brie (Community) as Trudy Campbell.
Where was Mad Men filmed?
Though set in New York, a number of Mad Men’s filming locations are actually in Los Angeles. The offices of Sterling Cooper and other sets were located at Los Angeles Center Studios. Other Los Angeles locations stood in for the interiors of New York landmarks, including the Cicada Restaurant which became midtown Manhattan’s Waldorf Astoria in the series. Even the Draper family home, which in the series is located in Westchester, New York, is actually a house in Pasadena, California.
What is the ad agency in Mad Men? Is it real?
At the beginning of the series, the ad agency is called Sterling Cooper, though the name changes throughout the run. While the agency is fictional, it is based on research and inspiration from actual Madison Avenue. Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner has cited real-life ad man Jerry Della Femina’s memoir as inspiration for the series, and Draper Daniels, a creative director at Leo Burnett, as the primary inspiration for Don.
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What do they drink on Mad Men?
Watching Mad Men does occasionally inspire cocktail cravings, and the classics feature heavily, perhaps none more so than the whiskey-based Old Fashioned, Don Draper’s drink of choice.
Other favourite Mad Men drinks include the Manhattan, gimlet, whiskey sour… and straight-up whiskey when the characters are at work.
You can buy the full Mad Men box set on Amazon now. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide.
