Jon Hamm talks about breaking down Don’s façade and explains what women really want from a man of mystery in AMCtv.com’s exclusive interview.

This interview contains some spoilers about season two if you have yet to watch!

Q: Did you approach Don differently this season than you did last?

A: I didn’t really approach him that differently. He’s still the same character. His circumstances have changed a bit, but what’s really been cool about this show is we don’t see a lot of what transpired over the fourteen months that we skipped over. It’s cool that we maintain that little bit of a mystery.

Q: The season begins with Don being warned about his health. Did you try to carry that knowledge with the character throughout the season?

A: I think Don’s been less than healthy since we’ve met him. It’s mostly just been about how the quantification of that bad health has affected him. With somebody saying to him, “You’re going to have to confront your mortality, buddy,” I tried to figure out what that means for him. We’ve been watching it. Don has been trying to be the good guy and play the straight and narrow, but the circumstances of his life keep interrupting that desire and again, he’s stayed in place quite a bit. Who knows, maybe next season will be all about me trying to quit smoking. Good luck.

Q: How did you feel about the way the season ended?

A: There were a couple ways we talked about ending it. But I think that this deliberately ambiguous ending was the right one. There could have been any number of things Betty could have said to Don at the table there, and anything that he could have said in response. We don’t know what’s going to happen to these two people next — they’ve clearly got a pretty dysfunctional relationship and a pretty broken marriage. But I think we are able to maintain a tension when there are more things that are unseen, when we just get little drips and drops. The device of moving forward in time helps that greatly, especially in both seasons when you have a pregnancy moving to the forefront.

MORE AFTER THE JUMP!! (more…)

The July 27 season 2 premiere of AMC’s Mad Men attracted 1.9 million viewers, more than double the 916,000 season 1 average. The show also tallied 955,000 viewers under age 50, which is nearly three times the 342,00 average for season 1. The 13-episode second season runs through October. The season 1 preimere attracted 1.6 million viewers on a Thursday in July but fell off later in the season as the broadcast networks began airing their new original episodes.

Speak Up: Isn’t this show amazing?  Discus…

Last week I had run out of shows in my DVR to keep me busy, so I went on the prowl for something new. I have been hearing about Mad Men quite a bit lately, and decided I’d check OnDemand and see if they had the first season. I was so excited to see that all 13 episodes were there! I started watching them on Monday, and I quickly made it through all 13. It is by FAR one of the best shows on TV, if not the best. The writing, the acting, the dark humor – it’s unparalleled. I was completely blown away with how amazing this show really is.

Set in 1960s New York, the sexy, stylized and provocative AMC drama Mad Men follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising, an ego-driven world where key players make an art of the sell.

Returning for its second season, the Golden Globe®-winning series for Best TV drama and actor will continue to blur the lines between truth and lies, perception and reality. The world of Mad Men is moving in a new direction — can Sterling Cooper keep up? Meanwhile the private life of Don Draper becomes complicated in a new way. What is the cost of his secret identity?

Created, executive produced and written by Weiner, this drama series stars Jon Hamm (We Were Soldiers), Elisabeth Moss (The West Wing), Vincent Kartheiser (Angel), John Slattery (Desperate Housewives), Christina Hendricks (Kevin Hill), and January Jones (We Are Marshall) along with guest star (and stage/screen legend) Robert Morse (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying). Michael Gladis (Third Watch), Aaron Staton (The Nanny Diaries), Rich Sommer (The Devil Wears Prada), and Bryan Batt (La Cage Aux Folles”) round out the cast.

The Premise: The series revolves around the conflicted world of Don Draper (Hamm), the biggest ad man (and ladies man) in the business, and his colleagues at the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency. As Don makes the plays in the boardroom and the bedroom, he struggles to stay a step ahead of the rapidly changing times and the young executives nipping at his heels. The series also depicts authentically the roles of men and women in this era while exploring the true human nature beneath the guise of 1960s traditional family values.

Season 2 Premieres Sunday, July 27 @ 10PM | 9C.  THAT’S TONIGHT!

Need a recap before watching Season 2 Premiere TONIGHT!? Go here!

Here are some pictures from tonight’s premiere!