Tonight, the final season of Mad Men kicks off on AMC with episode 1 titled “Time Zones.”
It’s been a while since the last season of Mad Men came to a conclusion, so before tonight’s season 7 premiere, here are a few things to remember:
1) Don Draper has been put on leave from Sterling Cooper & Partners following his latest screw up during a meeting with Hershey. The moment came after he tried to go cold turkey from the bottle (though he did have one drink at the suggestion of Ted). SC&P would not give him a particular date for when he could return to the company.
2) Our leading man decided to move to Los Angeles but then changed his mind. Ted is the one going to Los Angeles now to open up the new office for SC&P so he can put distance between himself and Peggy.
3) Meg – and everyone, for that matter – appears to be sick of Don. At the very end of the season 6 finale we saw Mr. Draper bring his kids to the whore house he grew up in. It may’ve given Sally, who’s been disgusted by her father after catching him cheating, a little more insight into dad and why he’s far from a perfect father.
It’ll be very interesting to see what Don’s next move is during the season 7 premiere which airs tonight, April 13 at 10 p.m. eastern/pacific on AMC. He’s got a pretty clean slate to start on. Will he begin again?
What we know about ‘Mad Men’ season 7
Promotional material suggests that Don and the rest of the characters are on a journey. In various photos and videos we’ve seen everyone arriving at an airport, but their presence at the transportation hub shouldn’t be taken as a literal preview of the season.
Speaking in a recent interview, series creator Matt Weiner teased the first half of the season. “The first seven are about the material world — ambition and the things we can control,” he said earlier this month. “Don has had almost everything taken away from him: his position, his status, his confidence [after being fired from his own ad agency]. Watching was hard for a lot of people. We’ve seen him go from a hungry and insecure person to someone who’s got growing children, a second marriage, and he’s on this third company.”
The second half of the season (the final seven episodes) will air beginning this time next year.
The synopsis for episode 1 reads, “Don makes a friend; Joan has drinks with a client; Roger receives a perplexing phone call; Peggy hears new work.