'Mad Men'

“Are you ready? Because I want you to pay attention. This is the beginning of something.”

And with those words began the final season premiere of “Mad Men,” the long-running 1960s advertising agency drama that catapulted Jon Hamm into superstardom and launched AMC as a bona fide cable network.

Yes, both “The Walking Dead” and “Breaking Bad” have acquired huge followings for AMC and cemented themselves as leaders in this new “golden age” of television. But “Mad Men” has always done something more.

It’s a subtle show — a polished piece of art that’s grounded more in character than plot. Throughout the years there have been narrative twists, like Peggy’s season one pregnancy or Don’s firing from his agency last year. But it’s personalities like Don
Draper, Peggy Olson, Joan Harris and Roger Sterling we keep tuning in for.

It’s now 1969, and Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is living bicoastal. His wife, Megan, has taken up residence in the Hollywood hills and seems poised on the brink of celebrity.

This is a very different Don than we have seen in any other season. He’s unemployed and, after last season’s confession to his three children, no longer actively hiding his less than ideal childhood. An unexpected exchange on the airplane ride home may even have viewers wondering if the old Don is dead and gone.

But it’s this shake-up that’s given the show’s final season that great pit of uncertainty it needed. Don’s no longer invincible, and he’s no longer top dog. That would be Lou Avery, who popped up for two episodes last season and is Peggy’s new boss at Sterling Cooper & Price. Suffice it to say Avery is no Don Draper, and Peggy and Avery aren’t seeing eye to eye on a pitch for Accutron watches.

Peggy’s ascension throughout the show’s course from secretary to copy writer and de facto creative director has been the secret sauce that has made “Mad Men” such an important show for feminism. It’s hard to watch Peggy struggle up the food chain, but when she’s played with such gusto by Emmy-nominee Elisabeth Moss, you can’t complain.

The same goes for Joan, who’s working overtime to keep the Butler Footwear account for SC&P. For a show centered on so called mad men, it’s the ladies that seem to be getting their dues this year.

Unfortunately, that sentiment does not extend to Don’s ex-wife, Betty, or his daughter, Sally, who are both absent from the season premiere. Hopefully we will see more of them as the season progresses.

“Mad Men” has always been shrouded in secrecy. Previews for the next episode rarely give much away, and celebrity guest stars are constantly kept under wraps. But it’s this streamlined approach to storytelling that makes it must-see television.

Don’s story may be winding down, but we’ll be on the edge of our seats until series creator Matthew Weiner closes on that long-awaited final scene he’s had planned for “Mad Men” for years.