--- title: "Mad Men" year: 2007 kind: "series" canonical: "https://film.one/tv/mad-men" fi1m_id: "mad-men" imdb_id: "tt0804503" tmdb_id: 1104 wikidata_id: "Q223977" fi1m_score: 88 critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 5 published: "2026-09-13" updated: "2026-09-20T21:17:29.309982+00:00" region: "IT" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Mad Men (2007) Created by Matthew Weiner · Drama ## Identity Mad Men - **Canonical:** https://film.one/tv/mad-men - **Type:** Series - **Fi1m ID:** mad-men - **IMDb ID:** tt0804503 - **TMDB ID:** 1104 - **Wikidata ID:** Q223977 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0804503/, https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/1104, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q223977 **Fi1m score: 88** · Critics 76 (early) from 5 reviews *In a sentence:* Everyone in advertising has a pitch ready for their own bad behaviour > *Mad Men* makes the advertising world of 1960s New York funny, ugly and absorbing through exact performances and patient storytelling. Its occasional smugness about the past is the price of an otherwise richly rewarding series. ## Synopsis In the advertising world of 1960s New York, professional persuasion sits alongside private evasions and behaviour that passes without much challenge. Jon Hamm plays Don Draper, with Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson and Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell. January Jones plays Betty Draper, while Christina Hendricks is Joan Holloway. The drama follows the people behind the salesmanship, looking at the social assumptions beneath an outwardly respectable America. Work, status and personal conduct become inseparable in a series where what people say often has little to do with what they want. ## Review *Mad Men* is excellent television, patient about people and exact about the ways they hurt one another. Its 1960s New York advertising setting gives Matthew Weiner and his fellow writers ample opportunity for period amusement, but the serious business is watching people make selfish conduct sound reasonable. The dialogue is funny enough to tempt us into accepting the excuse. We laughed, then felt unpleasantly complicit, because a cruel remark can arrive with all the ease of ordinary office conversation. Jon Hamm’s Don Draper is worth watching even when he gives us little to like. Hamm’s measured delivery keeps us listening for what Don is trying to conceal, and the pauses suggest someone choosing a useful answer with care. It is an absorbing performance because the effort stays visible beneath the composure. The writing gives him plenty of opportunities to be impressive, but Hamm is equally good at making charm feel like hard work. Elisabeth Moss’s Peggy Olson listens with a watchfulness that makes listening an active part of a scene; we can see her deciding what to say and what to keep back. Christina Hendricks’s Joan Holloway has a practised assurance, with a sharpness that prevents charm from softening everything she says. January Jones, as Betty Draper, is effective precisely where she can seem least inviting. Her stiffness makes unhappiness difficult to dismiss as merely bad temper. Phil Abraham and Christopher Manley are among the cinematographers who give the series its controlled, carefully composed look. The frames make us notice how people occupy a room. Their confidence seems to depend on everyone else accepting their place in it. Production designers Dan Bishop, Christopher Brown and Bob Shaw make the surroundings persuasive without turning each scene into an inventory of period objects. John Dunn and Janie Bryant’s costumes help us judge how these people expect to be treated before they speak. Editors including Christopher Nelson and Malcolm Jamieson give awkward exchanges room to develop rather than rushing towards the next disclosure. That patience matters when a response can tell us more than the speech that prompted it. David Carbonara’s music is most effective when it leaves the actors room, adding feeling without settling every uncertainty for us. The programme trusts a conversation to hold our attention, and the editing helps it do so. The reservation is that Weiner and his fellow writers occasionally seem too pleased to know better than the people they have written. The period’s accepted prejudices can come with an implied invitation to congratulate ourselves for recognising them. That is the least interesting way to watch these characters, and the programme sometimes encourages it. The cast usually makes the invitation harder to accept, since the person being appalling is rarely left as a convenient example. The temptation with a period drama is to admire the rooms and judge everyone inside them. We would suggest resisting both habits here, particularly when the characters seem most certain of themselves. The series needs close attention, and its measured pace will frustrate anyone who wants each exchange to announce its importance. Give it an evening when there is time for a conversation to become a problem. *Fi1m score 88, published 13 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is Mad Men worth watching?** *Mad Men* is worth watching for anyone with the patience for a drama that lets a conversation slowly turn into a problem, and we scored it 88. Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss lead a cast exact about how people excuse their own bad behaviour. Its measured pace and occasional smugness about the 1960s are the reservations. **Where can I watch Mad Men in Italy?** *Mad Men* is streaming on Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video in Italy, and it is also available to buy from Amazon Prime Video. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Mad Men, and is it suitable for children?** *Mad Men* is a 15 certificate in the UK and TV-14 in the US, so it is not for children, though its unpleasantness is social rather than violent. The series deals in adult behaviour, casual cruelty and the accepted prejudices of its period. Older teenagers who can follow patient dialogue will manage; nobody will be frightened. **How does Mad Men compare to The Apartment?** *Mad Men* and [*The Apartment*](https://film.one/film/the-apartment) both watch office advancement make a mess of private decency, but Billy Wilder's film does it in two hours where the series takes years. The film is the warmer and sadder of the two; the series is the more patient and the sharper about excuses. Watch Wilder first if you want to know how the setting ought to feel. **What should I watch after Mad Men?** After *Mad Men*, try [*The Apartment*](https://film.one/film/the-apartment) (1960, Fi1m 91): For another workplace where professional advancement makes a mess of private decency. Then [*In the Mood for Love*](https://film.one/film/in-the-mood-for-love) (2000, Fi1m 91): For the glances, immaculate clothes and feelings nobody can safely put into words; and [*Halt and Catch Fire*](https://film.one/tv/halt-and-catch-fire) (2014, Fi1m 84): Another patient series about ambition, working relationships and the cost of being difficult. ### Reviews we read (5) - **Empire**, William Thomas (90/100, inferred): The critic praises the series as compulsive TV set in the unreconstructed world of 1960s New York advertising. They highlight the impeccable playing, immaculate craftsmanship, style supported by substance from Sopranos writer-producer Matthew Weiner, and its exposure of fractures in a picture-book America. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/tv/reviews/mad-men-season-one-review/) - **Variety** (90/100, inferred): The piece positions Mad Men as the standout series of the summer, a rare period piece that reveals more about the present than most contemporary shows. It praises its creative leap, frothy elements combined with skewering of myths about the Eisenhower era, and veiled social commentary. [Read](https://variety.com/2007/tv/columns/mad-men-proves-past-can-be-present-1117970467/) - **The AV Club**, Noel Murray (80/100, inferred): The critic views the first season as a strong start that blends classic TV drama with retro style and sophisticated, elliptical storytelling comparable to The Sopranos and The Wire. They single out Christina Hendricks' performance as Joan and the thematic resonance of Don Draper's character arc for particular praise. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/notes-on-mad-men-1798212626) - **The Guardian** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds the show immoral, offensive and rather entertaining as a portrait of 1960s Madison Avenue ad men. They praise the sharp writing, complex characters like Don Draper, and authentic period detail, calling it proper grown-up television. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/mar/03/theweekendstvmadmen) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Randee Dawn (50/100, inferred): The review of the pilot finds much to admire in the crisp dialogue, beautiful camerawork, and transgressive vices, but notes the center feels hollow with competent but not standout acting and an insider's wink. It concludes there is much worth turning in for, but so far it is all soft sell. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/mad-men-review-first-episode-i-2007-816170/) ## Details - **Created by:** Matthew Weiner - **Creator:** Matthew Weiner - **Director:** Phil Abraham, Michael Uppendahl, Jennifer Getzinger, Scott Hornbacher, Matthew Weiner, Lesli Linka Glatter, Tim Hunter, John Slattery, Christopher Manley, Andrew Bernstein, Alan Taylor, Jon Hamm, Ed Bianchi, Barbet Schroeder, Lynn Shelton, Paul Feig, Matt Shakman, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Jared Harris - **Writer:** Matthew Weiner, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Erin Levy, Jonathan Igla, Semi Chellas, Lisa Albert, Robin Veith, Kater Gordon, Dahvi Waller, Carly Wray, Tom Smuts, Marti Noxon, Brett Johnson, Jonathan Abrahams, Cathryn Humphris, Bridget Bedard, Victor Levin, Tom Palmer, Janet Leahy, Chris Provenzano, Andrew Colville, Keith Huff, David Iserson, Heather Jeng Bladt, Tracy McMillan, Frank Pierson, Rick Cleveland, Jane Anderson, Jason Grote - **Cinematography:** Phil Abraham, Steve Mason, Bill Roe, Frankie DeMarco, Christopher Manley - **Editor:** Malcolm Jamieson, David Siegel, Conrad Smart, Leo Trombetta, Christopher Nelson - **Music:** David Carbonara - **Production design:** Dan Bishop, Christopher Brown, Bob Shaw - **Costume design:** Janie Bryant, John Dunn - **Producer:** Blake McCormick, Jon Hamm, Dwayne Shattuck - **Cast:** Jon Hamm as Don Draper; Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson; Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell; January Jones as Betty Draper; Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway; Michael Gladis as Paul Kinsey; Aaron Staton as Ken Cosgrove; Rich Sommer as Harry Crane - **Release (Italy):** 19 July 2007 - **Genres:** Drama - **Also in:** [Emmy Outstanding Drama Series winners](https://film.one/collections/emmy-drama.md) (Winner, 2008) ## Where to watch in Italy - Disney+: streaming, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: free - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - Amazon Prime Video: buy, sd *Checked 2026-09-13.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IN, IS, IT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Apartment* (1960), Fi1m 91: For another workplace where professional advancement makes a mess of private decency — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-apartment.md) - *The Hour* (2011): A period newsroom drama with sharp colleagues and compromises behind the professional composure - *In the Mood for Love* (2000), Fi1m 91: For the glances, immaculate clothes and feelings nobody can safely put into words — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/in-the-mood-for-love.md) - *Halt and Catch Fire* (2014), Fi1m 84: Another patient series about ambition, working relationships and the cost of being difficult — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/tv/halt-and-catch-fire.md) - *Late Spring* (1949), Fi1m 92: For family expectations enforced through politeness, and performances that make silence hurt — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/late-spring.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/tv/mad-men