When you think of the best TV series of all time, it’s hard not to mention The Sopranos. The HBO crime thriller, starring James Gandolfini as the complex Tony Soprano, is often cited as the founding father of prestige TV. In the years since, the likes of Breaking Bad, The Wire, and Game of Thrones (at least, the early seasons) all continued the “prestige TV” legacy. But, among that list is one phenomenal series that people often forget. Featuring a similarly complex anti-hero type protagonist, with a phenomenal supporting cast and some of the most iconic episodes and shots ever filmed for TV, we’re, of course, talking about Mad Men. For those who have already watched the series numerous times, or those looking for an excuse to try it out, Mad Men is about to stream in 4K for the very first time.
Mad Men will join HBO Max’s streaming library this December. But that’s not all. The series, which still looks phenomenal in standard HD, has been remastered in 4K for its HBO Max debut. Mad Men‘s 4K remaster will stream on HBO Max from December 1.
Mad Men, created by former Sopranos staff writer Matthew Weiner, first began airing on AMC in 2007 and ran for seven seasons, with its finale ending in 2015. Jon Hamm starred as Don Draper, an ad executive in Manhattan who, while being amazing at his job, is his own worst enemy when it comes to his personal life. Through the eyes of Don, Peggy (Elisabeth Moss), and the rest of the staff at Sterling Cooper, we experience some of the most pivotal moments in American history in the 20th Century following the Second World War. The official synopsis 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.”
How ‘Mad Men’ Was Created
As previously mentioned, Matthew Weiner worked as a writer on The Sopranos, among other shows, before becoming the creator of Mad Men. Speaking to The Archive of American Television in 2010, Weiner revealed that Mad Men began with a desire to “do something set in the 1960s.” In a pre-Internet era, Weiner paid someone to do research on the decade, and one of the most interesting things that came from the research was the tobacco advert ban.
“The first piece of research I got in was all about the crisis in cigarette advertising,” he continued. “But what I really wanted to do was tell a story about someone like me, who was 35 years old, and who had everything, and was miserable.” From that pessimistic outlook came Don Draper, one of the most iconic anti-heroes in TV history, alongside Tony Soprano.
- Release Date
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2007 – 2015-00-00
- Network
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AMC