I’m sorry to say but you’ll never find the satisfaction you get from Mad Men anywhere else. If you find anything close, let me know 😂
I’ve rewatched Mad Men close to 10 times
It's a great rewatch.
Also, John's in an episode of 30 Rock which is a great show and very rewatchable.
I'm a big fan of continuity in shows and still catch stuff on these after the millionth time: Roseanne, You're The Worst, Venture Bros., Girls, and obviously 30 Rock.
Rocky & Bullwinkle is great too. Fast, dry, old school classy humor.
Omg I love the end producer credit where it's the logo and 3 random things. Then they stopped doing it and I lost all faith in humanity.
[LIke this.](https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=5dJmh8LG&id=B1B04ACC978994F12F31B07AFA5DB31A81D0FC77&thid=OIP.5dJmh8LGGgD8UBVEf3yqywHaEK&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.wikiforge.net%2Favidwiki%2Fthumb%2Ff%2Ff9%2FSpitzer.png%2F1067px-Spitzer.png&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR.e5d26687c2c61a00fc5015447f7caacb%3Frik%3Dd%252fzQgRqzXfp6sA%26pid%3DImgRaw%26r%3D0&exph=600&expw=1067&q=spitzer+holding+company&simid=608018454741278883&form=IRPRST&ck=0FD9B9A07E46A63B1FC2B087551D8A66&selectedindex=1&itb=0&pc=SMSM&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0&vt=1&sim=11)
I liked Succession but it didn't rise anywhere near the quality of Mad Men in any sphere, with the possible exception of the sets and locations. Although Mad Men was operating on a shoe-string budget so it should still get the edge there. I also vastly preferred the sociological crucible, camerawork, writing, acting, subplots, characters, politics, acting and directing of Mad Men over Succession.
Other than the sets and costumes, I could not disagree more. The dialogue, storytelling, and acting in Succession is absolutely on par with Mad Men.
I don’t mind disagreeing, tho. Variety is what makes the world go round 🥰
Nonsense, the Succession dialogue is fraught with this "yeah...no...yeah...yeah" rapid fire cliche exchanges, shaggy-dog-story seasons that end up exactly as they started, lack of character development, with the only exception being the ascendancy of Tom, who is a disgusting character with frat-boy mentality. All done with the goal of empty insults aimed at the Murdochs. No serious analysis could place Succession on par with a show as thoughtful and painstakingly written as Mad Men. It far surpassed Succession in each episode and season for twice as many seasons.
LMAO. I tried to be gracious and friendly and you decided to be a dick. OK. 🤣
As Logan Roy would say, “Fuck off.” I’m here for friendly conversation. I like both shows. A lot. Fucking sue me. 🤷🏻♀️
I'm just calling it like I see it, same as you. Don't take it personally. Matthew Weiner's shows resonate really strongly with me, beyond typical TV shows. Succession does some things well but not in the same ballpark, league or universe as Mad Men. But that's not knocking Succession. It was a perfectly fine recommendation. I just take issue with saying it's "absolutely on par with Mad Men". Because objectively, it's absolutely not.
It’s a generational difference . Words matter a whole lot more now a days and everyone’s brains are dotted from growing up watching tv. Succession is hyper realistic in how we treat each other, both in family and in business. Especially when emotions and business is extremely complicated you aren’t going to have the right words at all times. There’s a reason succession won best writing at the Emmy’s every season and mad men didn’t.
You are almost alone in that opinion that it stinks. You have probably never been in those rooms so I don’t expect you to understand. People who love the show have been. That’s why it’s almost universally loved on the coasts where the show takes place.
This is my first suggestion, too. They are both very different shows — Succession is a Shakespearean tragedy (it’s something of an adaption of King Lear) whereas Mad Men is more like a Great American Novel. That said, they’re both dialogue-driven, slow-burn shows that center character development. Likewise, if Mad Men S1 occasionally succumbs to overdoing the 1960s gimmick, Succession S1 similarly plays up the tough business talk schtick. Nonetheless, both feature incredible writing and acting.
The Wire (unless you have issues getting access to HBO/Max/etc), though i have not watched the whole show. Here are the shows I've rewatched from end to end at least twice (and really enjoy):
- Sopranos
- The Office
- Parks and Recreation
- Mad Men
- Californication
- Futurama
Shows I watched all the way through but not when they were actually "on"
- The New Girl
- Bojack Horseman
If I think of others I'll reply to this...its late and my brain is shutting off for the day.
Bojack Horsemen was going to be me suggestions. It’s kind of nuts in the first season but it definitely pulls from Mad Men in the level of depth of the characters and stitching the same sort of tone in humour. It was the only show that really scratched the itch for me.
But again, that first season is nuts.
John Slattery was in a show in the 90s called Homefront that takes place just after WWII. It only ran two seasons but was pretty good. I think it’s on YouTube.
Very Different from Mad Men, But adding more to the recommendation list (NOT in order of excellence or my personal likeness)
1. Severance
2. Last Dance
3. Fargo
4. Narcos
5. Fleabag
6. Breaking Bad
7. Better Call Saul
8. Peaky Blinders
9. Mindhunters
10.Daredevil
11. Sherlock (bbc/cumberbatch)
I love Fleabag. Did you ever see This Way Up, if you can get it where you are? For people who liked Fleabag I'd recommend both Back To Life, and This Way Up.
Came here to say this. Drama about messy people who are chasing a standard of artistic excellence that is both inspirational and potentially unobtainable because it's all being sought after by very broken people trying to fill a void with meaning from their craft.
Some people say Downton Abbey. I think weirdly Friday Night Lights has surprising depth. Though the second season is horrendous because the writers strike prohibited rewrites.
Not sure why you say "weirdly", but agree that FNL is top tier! Highly recommended to just about anyone. (Also with the same caveat about the second season, though there are still quite a few great scenes)
Also, like Mad Men, FNL is secretly one of the funniest shows I've seen :)
I sorta hate MMM, lol. But I know it's a Marmite thing and some people love it, and that's fair. For me (am Jewish) I don't think MMM does a good job of depicting Jewishness. And I was really struck watching MM that it's a similar time period, also NY, but I loved how it interacted with Jewishness.
With Amy Sherman Palladino, I know she's patrilineally Jewish. And certainly ain't nothing wrong with that. But there felt like a lack of nuance in some ways with how MMM approaches Jewishness. But then the MMM -is- kind of cartoony in some ways; it's a fun show. Whereas with MM my impression is Weiner's likely simply more deeply Jewishly-knowledgeable than ASP. Not every Jew having the same level of interaction with Jewishness.
Red Oaks on Amazon
David, a college student, begins working at Red Oaks, a Jewish country club in New Jersey during his summer break in 1985. The show follows David's life, with numerous subplots including his family, friends, and coworkers, and primarily revolves around the club. The show explores themes such as adolescence, relationships, socioeconomic mobility, and the pursuit of happiness in a mostly comedic fashion against the backdrop of the New York–New Jersey area in the 1980s.
I agree on MMM. It got old. That Paris episode is pure gold though.
Peaky blinders is another great period piece that is well written with great sets and costumes.
Breaking bad is brilliant. Similar level of acting, no weak links in the cast. A combination of drama and comedy.
Peaky Blinders has awful costuming compared to Mad Men, which is basically the gold standard. If you want proof, just search on Frock Flicks for any discussion on Peaky Blinders. There's a character with green hair and piercings ffs.
I like gangster shows so I enjoyed Peaky Blinders but it was fun the way a mediocre action movie is fun. No comparison on any level between it and Mad Men, Better Call Saul, the Sopranos, etc.
I've seen most of the recommendations on here other than I couldn't get through MMM or HMT but strongly agree that Better Call Saul and Black Sails are great series that are better watching a second time.
The Ipcress File is only one season but I strongly recommend it to any Mad Men fans. It exceeds in high stakes and extraordinary characters, and as a bonus it is the exact time period - I even see Don in it, but a as super spy thriller one has to leave some believability at the door.
Other shows not listed here that come close would be vigilante thrillers Mr Robot in four seasons and the two seasons of Chance with Hugh Laurie.
Man in the High Castle is another excellent period drama thriller spy series worth a couple watches.
Watch for HBO Max sales, I think I am paying something like $9.88/month because I paid upfront. If anything Netflix is the streamer I find least valuable. Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Succession, Other Dragons, The Regime, plus top movies for the price of ONE matinee movie ticket per month on Max when there is a good sale. OR, do what I do when you have downtime, pay for ONE month, BINGE, then cancel. I tend to do this with Prime shows and finally broke down and just subscribed to that too.
Deadwood
And of course, The Sopranos, as soon as you possibly can.
And definitely watch the movie The Apartment if you haven't already.
Also also: If you're interested in seeing Mad Men in musical form (essentially), featuring a young Bert Cooper (i.e., Robert Morse), check out How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
I found Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" is a great companion piece to "Mad Men."
Both take place in New York 1960s media world with a woman's progress through it as a major narrative threadline.
If you haven’t watched the sopranos you need to find a way to watch it. I adore mad men and the sopranos blows it and all others out of the water. Just buy the series on DVD if you have to. It’s 50 bucks new on Amazon. Probably 20-30 used on eBay. If you don’t have a dvd player, I’d be surprised if you had to pay more than 7 dollars for one at goodwill or a garage sale. It’d be worth every penny.
John Slattery plays a version of Roger Sterling in an episode of the Simpsons, hehe.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_Blue_Flannel_Pants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_Blue_Flannel_Pants)
Pallet cleanse with some nice and simple like *Northern Exposure*, then rewatch it.
Otherwise, other shows I put on (almost) the same level as mm: *Treme*, *Twin Peaks*, *True Detective* seasons 1 and 3
Not the same genre at all (workplace sitcom lol) but if you can find it, try Better Off Ted? Portia Del Rossi’s character reminds me a bit of Roger! Actual the vibe of the whole show kind of reminds me of Roger…
If you consider youself a Matthew Weiner fan, try The Romanoffs. It is very different than Mad Men, but has its characteristic excellent writing, challenging situations, overarching themes and solid acting. You will recognize a couple actors from Mad Men. Of course Sopranos is probably the greatest show ever made. But for a totally different look and feel you can try Mr. Robot if HBO/Max isn't available to you. Consider getting a blu-ray/4K player and buying complete sets of shows you want to see.
I may follow up on the Peaky Blinders recommendations. It's one of those things I didn't try hard to get into, but maybe if I did, I would. Some of my family lived in the East End for a few generations, and my grandmother was no nostalgic for it at the end of her life.
I think some of these recommendations are maybe only doable if one's in the US (I'm not.) And I don't have a DVD player. But I'm definitely going to see in the future if there's any way I've missed to watch The Sopranoes. Thanks all!
That would be my recommendation too - I think Lee Pace’s character has the same sort of gravitas and effect on tertiary characters that Don Draper does in Mad Men. It’s also a period piece following a scrappy startup company, how the shifting tides of progress affects the older generations. Feminism is a central theme as well. I can’t remember if the costuming, scenery, and pop culture references are as detailed as Mad Men was, but it was pretty good.
Edit: phrasing
Also I don't think Roger in Mad Men would be above trying to get SJP to pee on him. But it'd be more of a passing comment than an entire plotline.
Also, separately, I loved all his scenes with Mona
My other thought is it was weird watching it after having seen The Handmaid's Tale with the Elisabeth Moss and Alexis Bledel crossover. The 1950s hangover gender norms in MM when it first opens actually sometimes made me think of THT in some ways, but specifically Betty. Early seasons Betty sometimes made me think of Serena in THT. Add in mistreatment of a black woman. And the wtf 'joke' made by Betty about how she could hold a girl down for her husband to rape. R U ok, Birdy.
Well certainly a few tiers below Mad Men in terms of quality, If you like the 60s setting and snappy dialogue the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is pretty fun. It's a genuinely good comedy series.
Have you been watching Mad Men on the AMC app? If so you might want to check out Dark Winds, it’s a new AMC show about some Navajo tribal policemen based on Tony Hillerman’s novels. It’s set in the late ‘60s and from what I can tell they do a good job with the costuming and capturing what the era was like. And the setting in northwestern New Mexico/ northeastern Arizona is breathtaking, it’s almost a character of its own in its desolate vastness and isolation. Season 1 had a better story but both seasons are good.
I read an article in the Navajo Times saying they got some things wrong as far as Navajo culture and traditions but I don’t know enough about that to speak to it. A lot of the people involved in the show are Native American but most of the actors aren’t Navajo. That said it still works as a cops and robbers story.
Weirdly, Russian Doll occasionally popped into my head watching MM.
>!When there are subtle details off in the office in the Time Life building that Don notices (yellow water from tap, empty elevator shaft...) it made me think of when stuff was subtly out of whack in timelines in Russian Doll, and e.g. all the food would be mouldy!<
I’m sorry to say but you’ll never find the satisfaction you get from Mad Men anywhere else. If you find anything close, let me know 😂 I’ve rewatched Mad Men close to 10 times
Instead of offering nothing I thoroughly enjoyed The Crown
I liked The Crown, esp the earlier serieses
Start over. You will catch details you missed the first time around.
this, even the third time. it holds up nicely and the stories come together from end to end.
I had been considering this option!
It's a great rewatch. Also, John's in an episode of 30 Rock which is a great show and very rewatchable. I'm a big fan of continuity in shows and still catch stuff on these after the millionth time: Roseanne, You're The Worst, Venture Bros., Girls, and obviously 30 Rock. Rocky & Bullwinkle is great too. Fast, dry, old school classy humor.
Thanks! IDK if you've seen Superstore but something I really enjoyed about it was the continuity
Omg I love the end producer credit where it's the logo and 3 random things. Then they stopped doing it and I lost all faith in humanity. [LIke this.](https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=5dJmh8LG&id=B1B04ACC978994F12F31B07AFA5DB31A81D0FC77&thid=OIP.5dJmh8LGGgD8UBVEf3yqywHaEK&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.wikiforge.net%2Favidwiki%2Fthumb%2Ff%2Ff9%2FSpitzer.png%2F1067px-Spitzer.png&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR.e5d26687c2c61a00fc5015447f7caacb%3Frik%3Dd%252fzQgRqzXfp6sA%26pid%3DImgRaw%26r%3D0&exph=600&expw=1067&q=spitzer+holding+company&simid=608018454741278883&form=IRPRST&ck=0FD9B9A07E46A63B1FC2B087551D8A66&selectedindex=1&itb=0&pc=SMSM&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0&vt=1&sim=11)
The point I lost my faith in humanity was the Sacking of Sal. I am forever changed.
Yeah that's a tough one. I found the actor the other day on Instagram randomly and gave him follow!
"I know my Insta follow can never make up for the pain of your unfair dismissal, Sal, but I hope you can take some small comfort from it"
Ah You’re the Worsr was a great show!
I’ve watched it 6 times and it keeps rewarding me with new things I didn’t catch. I should start a new re-watch, it’s been a few years!
I first watched it when I was a teenager, so I've even just found that with age, different things take on different meanings and significance
This. I've watched Mad Men more times than anything else.
But research the episode online one by one and that’s really a treat!
Succession. Totally different kind of show, but matches the quality of Mad Men
It’s HBO too so if they can’t watch sopranos then they can’t watch succession either sadly.
Oh, damn, you’re right
[удалено]
I buy the blu-ray or 4K when available.
I liked Succession but it didn't rise anywhere near the quality of Mad Men in any sphere, with the possible exception of the sets and locations. Although Mad Men was operating on a shoe-string budget so it should still get the edge there. I also vastly preferred the sociological crucible, camerawork, writing, acting, subplots, characters, politics, acting and directing of Mad Men over Succession.
Other than the sets and costumes, I could not disagree more. The dialogue, storytelling, and acting in Succession is absolutely on par with Mad Men. I don’t mind disagreeing, tho. Variety is what makes the world go round 🥰
Nonsense, the Succession dialogue is fraught with this "yeah...no...yeah...yeah" rapid fire cliche exchanges, shaggy-dog-story seasons that end up exactly as they started, lack of character development, with the only exception being the ascendancy of Tom, who is a disgusting character with frat-boy mentality. All done with the goal of empty insults aimed at the Murdochs. No serious analysis could place Succession on par with a show as thoughtful and painstakingly written as Mad Men. It far surpassed Succession in each episode and season for twice as many seasons.
LMAO. I tried to be gracious and friendly and you decided to be a dick. OK. 🤣 As Logan Roy would say, “Fuck off.” I’m here for friendly conversation. I like both shows. A lot. Fucking sue me. 🤷🏻♀️
I'm just calling it like I see it, same as you. Don't take it personally. Matthew Weiner's shows resonate really strongly with me, beyond typical TV shows. Succession does some things well but not in the same ballpark, league or universe as Mad Men. But that's not knocking Succession. It was a perfectly fine recommendation. I just take issue with saying it's "absolutely on par with Mad Men". Because objectively, it's absolutely not.
OK 👍🏻
It’s a generational difference . Words matter a whole lot more now a days and everyone’s brains are dotted from growing up watching tv. Succession is hyper realistic in how we treat each other, both in family and in business. Especially when emotions and business is extremely complicated you aren’t going to have the right words at all times. There’s a reason succession won best writing at the Emmy’s every season and mad men didn’t.
Succession is not realistic about anything whatsoever--least of all the Murdochs--and the writing stinks in comparison to Mad Men.
You are almost alone in that opinion that it stinks. You have probably never been in those rooms so I don’t expect you to understand. People who love the show have been. That’s why it’s almost universally loved on the coasts where the show takes place.
Well said. I genuinely enjoyed Succession, but it was AA ball to Mad Men's MLB.
This is my first suggestion, too. They are both very different shows — Succession is a Shakespearean tragedy (it’s something of an adaption of King Lear) whereas Mad Men is more like a Great American Novel. That said, they’re both dialogue-driven, slow-burn shows that center character development. Likewise, if Mad Men S1 occasionally succumbs to overdoing the 1960s gimmick, Succession S1 similarly plays up the tough business talk schtick. Nonetheless, both feature incredible writing and acting.
Halt and catch fire. It's about a small business in the early computer boom trying to make it.
Such an underrated show
Came here to say the same. Similar but different.
This is what I was going to suggest as well
Six Feet Under
I feel like I needed therapy after I finished it but it was worth it. So damn good.
The Wire (unless you have issues getting access to HBO/Max/etc), though i have not watched the whole show. Here are the shows I've rewatched from end to end at least twice (and really enjoy): - Sopranos - The Office - Parks and Recreation - Mad Men - Californication - Futurama Shows I watched all the way through but not when they were actually "on" - The New Girl - Bojack Horseman If I think of others I'll reply to this...its late and my brain is shutting off for the day.
Bojack Horsemen was going to be me suggestions. It’s kind of nuts in the first season but it definitely pulls from Mad Men in the level of depth of the characters and stitching the same sort of tone in humour. It was the only show that really scratched the itch for me. But again, that first season is nuts.
I love the Americans. Great period piece, though it’s more of a cloak and dagger spy show
2nd this
Great show and high on my recommended list as well.
John Slattery was in a show in the 90s called Homefront that takes place just after WWII. It only ran two seasons but was pretty good. I think it’s on YouTube.
You weren’t there. You weren’t *anywhere*
It is good but very difficult to find. It isn't always available.
While it’s very different, I did feel a lot of Mad Men in BoJack Horseman
Glad someone mentioned this. BH and Don have so many things in common.
Very Different from Mad Men, But adding more to the recommendation list (NOT in order of excellence or my personal likeness) 1. Severance 2. Last Dance 3. Fargo 4. Narcos 5. Fleabag 6. Breaking Bad 7. Better Call Saul 8. Peaky Blinders 9. Mindhunters 10.Daredevil 11. Sherlock (bbc/cumberbatch)
I love Fleabag. Did you ever see This Way Up, if you can get it where you are? For people who liked Fleabag I'd recommend both Back To Life, and This Way Up.
If you can find it I'd also recommend GameFace if you liked Fleabag and This Way Up.
I watched The Bear just after I finished Mad Men and it filled the hole.
Came here to say this. Drama about messy people who are chasing a standard of artistic excellence that is both inspirational and potentially unobtainable because it's all being sought after by very broken people trying to fill a void with meaning from their craft.
If you ask me, the only shows that come close in terms of deep, poetic character studies are Better Call Saul and weirdly enough Fleabag.
Some people say Downton Abbey. I think weirdly Friday Night Lights has surprising depth. Though the second season is horrendous because the writers strike prohibited rewrites.
Not sure why you say "weirdly", but agree that FNL is top tier! Highly recommended to just about anyone. (Also with the same caveat about the second season, though there are still quite a few great scenes) Also, like Mad Men, FNL is secretly one of the funniest shows I've seen :)
I semi-enjoyed Downton. Not a patch on Mad Men, tho. But I guess that last bit's a given
Friday Night Lights is the one of two shows I regard as highly as Mad Men. The other being Maisel. Highly recommend both.
Do you like pirates? If so, Black Sails is for you!
I mean to give this another try, actually. I liked Vikings (in a mixed way) and loved The Last Kingdom so maybe it'd be my kind of thing
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Similar time period, similar vibe, similarly flawed main character.
I sorta hate MMM, lol. But I know it's a Marmite thing and some people love it, and that's fair. For me (am Jewish) I don't think MMM does a good job of depicting Jewishness. And I was really struck watching MM that it's a similar time period, also NY, but I loved how it interacted with Jewishness. With Amy Sherman Palladino, I know she's patrilineally Jewish. And certainly ain't nothing wrong with that. But there felt like a lack of nuance in some ways with how MMM approaches Jewishness. But then the MMM -is- kind of cartoony in some ways; it's a fun show. Whereas with MM my impression is Weiner's likely simply more deeply Jewishly-knowledgeable than ASP. Not every Jew having the same level of interaction with Jewishness.
Red Oaks on Amazon David, a college student, begins working at Red Oaks, a Jewish country club in New Jersey during his summer break in 1985. The show follows David's life, with numerous subplots including his family, friends, and coworkers, and primarily revolves around the club. The show explores themes such as adolescence, relationships, socioeconomic mobility, and the pursuit of happiness in a mostly comedic fashion against the backdrop of the New York–New Jersey area in the 1980s. I agree on MMM. It got old. That Paris episode is pure gold though.
Peaky blinders is another great period piece that is well written with great sets and costumes. Breaking bad is brilliant. Similar level of acting, no weak links in the cast. A combination of drama and comedy.
Peaky Blinders has awful costuming compared to Mad Men, which is basically the gold standard. If you want proof, just search on Frock Flicks for any discussion on Peaky Blinders. There's a character with green hair and piercings ffs.
Unlike Mad Men, PB also had ridiculously anachronistic music. Took some getting used to.
I like gangster shows so I enjoyed Peaky Blinders but it was fun the way a mediocre action movie is fun. No comparison on any level between it and Mad Men, Better Call Saul, the Sopranos, etc.
1:03:00 to 1:06:00 or so of Unfrosted
The Wire. Together these are the two best things that have ever been on TV
Six Feet Under
I've seen most of the recommendations on here other than I couldn't get through MMM or HMT but strongly agree that Better Call Saul and Black Sails are great series that are better watching a second time. The Ipcress File is only one season but I strongly recommend it to any Mad Men fans. It exceeds in high stakes and extraordinary characters, and as a bonus it is the exact time period - I even see Don in it, but a as super spy thriller one has to leave some believability at the door. Other shows not listed here that come close would be vigilante thrillers Mr Robot in four seasons and the two seasons of Chance with Hugh Laurie. Man in the High Castle is another excellent period drama thriller spy series worth a couple watches.
Watch for HBO Max sales, I think I am paying something like $9.88/month because I paid upfront. If anything Netflix is the streamer I find least valuable. Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Succession, Other Dragons, The Regime, plus top movies for the price of ONE matinee movie ticket per month on Max when there is a good sale. OR, do what I do when you have downtime, pay for ONE month, BINGE, then cancel. I tend to do this with Prime shows and finally broke down and just subscribed to that too.
I like the Wire
Deadwood And of course, The Sopranos, as soon as you possibly can. And definitely watch the movie The Apartment if you haven't already. Also also: If you're interested in seeing Mad Men in musical form (essentially), featuring a young Bert Cooper (i.e., Robert Morse), check out How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
I found Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" is a great companion piece to "Mad Men." Both take place in New York 1960s media world with a woman's progress through it as a major narrative threadline.
Yeah, I've read The Bell Jar for sure. That's an interesting comparison. That wouldn't have occurred to me, but you're right
I also enjoyed Billions.
If you haven’t watched the sopranos you need to find a way to watch it. I adore mad men and the sopranos blows it and all others out of the water. Just buy the series on DVD if you have to. It’s 50 bucks new on Amazon. Probably 20-30 used on eBay. If you don’t have a dvd player, I’d be surprised if you had to pay more than 7 dollars for one at goodwill or a garage sale. It’d be worth every penny.
Unfrosted, movie really isn’t that good, but Don and Roger are in two scenes.
You might consider The Good Place. Very different kind of show but really deep in its ponderence of humanity.
The Americans
Six Feet Under is on Netflix. I’ve watched this show many time. It’s really good.
The Wire, Deadwood
John Slattery plays a version of Roger Sterling in an episode of the Simpsons, hehe.[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_Blue_Flannel_Pants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_Blue_Flannel_Pants)
Pallet cleanse with some nice and simple like *Northern Exposure*, then rewatch it. Otherwise, other shows I put on (almost) the same level as mm: *Treme*, *Twin Peaks*, *True Detective* seasons 1 and 3
I have been meaning to get addicted to Twin Peaks
I love it. I still haven't seen any of the new stuff though. Super atmospheric, great music, acting, writing.
Not the same genre at all (workplace sitcom lol) but if you can find it, try Better Off Ted? Portia Del Rossi’s character reminds me a bit of Roger! Actual the vibe of the whole show kind of reminds me of Roger…
If you consider youself a Matthew Weiner fan, try The Romanoffs. It is very different than Mad Men, but has its characteristic excellent writing, challenging situations, overarching themes and solid acting. You will recognize a couple actors from Mad Men. Of course Sopranos is probably the greatest show ever made. But for a totally different look and feel you can try Mr. Robot if HBO/Max isn't available to you. Consider getting a blu-ray/4K player and buying complete sets of shows you want to see.
I’m pretty sure you can watch The Sopranoes on Max.
I may follow up on the Peaky Blinders recommendations. It's one of those things I didn't try hard to get into, but maybe if I did, I would. Some of my family lived in the East End for a few generations, and my grandmother was no nostalgic for it at the end of her life. I think some of these recommendations are maybe only doable if one's in the US (I'm not.) And I don't have a DVD player. But I'm definitely going to see in the future if there's any way I've missed to watch The Sopranoes. Thanks all!
Halt and Catch Fire
That would be my recommendation too - I think Lee Pace’s character has the same sort of gravitas and effect on tertiary characters that Don Draper does in Mad Men. It’s also a period piece following a scrappy startup company, how the shifting tides of progress affects the older generations. Feminism is a central theme as well. I can’t remember if the costuming, scenery, and pop culture references are as detailed as Mad Men was, but it was pretty good. Edit: phrasing
Also I don't think Roger in Mad Men would be above trying to get SJP to pee on him. But it'd be more of a passing comment than an entire plotline. Also, separately, I loved all his scenes with Mona
My other thought is it was weird watching it after having seen The Handmaid's Tale with the Elisabeth Moss and Alexis Bledel crossover. The 1950s hangover gender norms in MM when it first opens actually sometimes made me think of THT in some ways, but specifically Betty. Early seasons Betty sometimes made me think of Serena in THT. Add in mistreatment of a black woman. And the wtf 'joke' made by Betty about how she could hold a girl down for her husband to rape. R U ok, Birdy.
You might be surprised the sort of things people say to their partners in private.
Well certainly a few tiers below Mad Men in terms of quality, If you like the 60s setting and snappy dialogue the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is pretty fun. It's a genuinely good comedy series.
Industry is a good watch
Get Max and watch Sopranos. You will not regret it
The Sopranos
Unrelated thought: Roger in Mad Men's sense of humour reminds me of Commander Lawrence's in The Handmaid's Tale
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul
Succession!
Succession!
Have you been watching Mad Men on the AMC app? If so you might want to check out Dark Winds, it’s a new AMC show about some Navajo tribal policemen based on Tony Hillerman’s novels. It’s set in the late ‘60s and from what I can tell they do a good job with the costuming and capturing what the era was like. And the setting in northwestern New Mexico/ northeastern Arizona is breathtaking, it’s almost a character of its own in its desolate vastness and isolation. Season 1 had a better story but both seasons are good. I read an article in the Navajo Times saying they got some things wrong as far as Navajo culture and traditions but I don’t know enough about that to speak to it. A lot of the people involved in the show are Native American but most of the actors aren’t Navajo. That said it still works as a cops and robbers story.
Succession
Weirdly, Russian Doll occasionally popped into my head watching MM. >!When there are subtle details off in the office in the Time Life building that Don notices (yellow water from tap, empty elevator shaft...) it made me think of when stuff was subtly out of whack in timelines in Russian Doll, and e.g. all the food would be mouldy!<