It’s been 17 long months since we ventured into the world of Don Draper and Mad Men. AMC’s hit series returns Sunday, March 25, with much anticipation from fans. If you’re like me, you’ve been checking the Twitter feed of @MadMen_AMC every day, rewatching every season before bed and circling March 25 in your planner over and over.
The drama set in 1960s Manhattan follows the lives of Manhattan ad men during the glory days of advertising. The show has won numerous awards, including the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series for all four of its seasons.
Here’s a guide to the key players in Mad Men every collegiette, whether a die-hard fan like me or looking to get into the show for the first time, should know.
Key Players:
Don Draper (Jon Hamm…Mizzou grad ahem!)
Don, the main character of the show, has kept us glued to the TV for four seasons. Formally creative director at Sterling-Cooper, Don is now creative director and partner at the newly created Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Pryce. Despite being exceptionally well-dressed and incredibly successful, Don is not so successful when it comes to women. His scandalous affairs broke up his marriage and have caused him to go through numerous secretaries. Season four ended with Don escaping to California with his secretary, Megan, and returning engaged to her. Let’s just say his girlfriend, Faye, did not take the news so well. What will happen next with Don? Only season five can tell!
Roger Sterling (John Slattery)
Roger is my personal favorite character. His sarcastic wit, selfish behavior, crude sense of humor and perfectly grayed hair make him the ideal boss for SCDP. Roger epitomizes the stereotypical ad man of the 1960s. He is chauvinistic, money-hungry and incredibly charming all at the same time. You can’t help but love Roger – selfishness and all. Just ask the slew of women, such as office secretary, Joan Harris, who are unable to escape Roger’s charm.
Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss)
Peggy is the feminist role model of Mad Men. I can almost hear the Mary Tyler Moore theme song play when Peggy is on screen. She is fun, daring, independent and innocent. Starting out as Don’s secretary, Peggy rose up to become the only female copywriter in the office. We’ve watched Peggy grow from naïve Brooklynite to outspoken New Yorker. Her loyalty and respect for Don led her to follow him to his new agency after the fall of Sterling-Cooper (see season two for more juicy details). But Peggy isn’t without drama herself. Her deep connection with Don stems back to season one when an unexpected (and secret!) pregnancy left Don as the only support system and friend Peggy had.
Betty Francis (January Jones)
In season one, Betty was everything a housewife in the 1960s should be: a beautiful, young mother who always cooks dinner for the kids (named Bobby and Sally, of course) and never questions why Don gets home so late. We soon saw in seasons two and three, though, that not everything in Betty’s life was as perfect as her pretty smile would have you believe. Her unhappy marriage with Don, several affairs on both sides and deep psychological stresses caused Betty to leave Don and find herself a new man, Henry Francis, who is aide to the New York governor.
Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks)
No one attracts attention in the office quite like Joan. From her signature red hair to her killer curves, Joan is without a doubt the Marilyn Monroe bombshell of the office. She knows the ins and the outs of the office, as well as the men who run it. In season one we saw that Joan’s wisdom goes beyond the office; she mentored Peggy and taught the young secretary the ways of the city. Joan’s on-again, off-again affair with Roger sparked up after a steamy encounter in season four. Although Joan is happily married to Army surgeon Greg Harris, her attraction to Roger is undeniable. Who knows what season five will have in store, but one can only hope it’s more of the Joan and Roger saga.
Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser)
Pete is like the little brother of the office. His frat boy sense of humor and tendency to suck up to the big wigs makes Pete more than just a little annoying. A scandalous affair with Peggy in season led to a secret child who Peggy gave up for adoption. Since then, Pete and Peggy have remained coworkers with only an occasional rendezvous. Pete and his wife were expecting their first child this past season. Despite this, I am expecting another Pete and Peggy encounter in season five. (But we all know Peggy can do much better!)
Names to know:
Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse)
Bertram, or Bert for short, is the quirky grandfather figure of the crew. His fascination with Asian cultures and his love of walking barefoot make him a funny addition to the SCDP office. Even though slightly behind-the-times, Bert knows the ad business and is dedicated to making SCDP succeed. When we last saw Bert in season four, the agency had just lost a majority of its clients, and Bert was convinced the agency was going down. Although I highly doubt this is the case, it will be interesting to see how Bert and the gang salvage the SCDP agency in season five.
Lane Pryce (Jared Harris)
Lane, formerly of the Puttnam, Powell and Lowe Agency, came aboard in season two when Sterling-Cooper merged with the London-based agency. Lane eventually left the big guys in London and followed Don and the crew as they created their own agency. He’s a nice guy but being far from home has put stress on his marriage, his relationship with his kids and the relationship, or lack thereof, with his father. Keep a look out for Lane in season. I suspect he will have a bigger role.
Megan Calvet (Jessica Pare)
Don’s latest secretary, Megan, just so happens to be the gal who’s stolen the famous ad man’s heart. In a surprise turn of events, Don proposed to Megan while she was with him and babysitting his children in California. It’s unclear if this is true love or if Megan is just another victim of Don Draper charm. I personally hope this is the real deal, but I have a hunch Don can never truly settle down.
Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton)
Ken is another ad man who was originally at Sterling-Cooper in seasons one and two. But after the drama of season three unfolded, Ken was not asked to join Don and the gang at the new agency. Eventually, however, he reunited with the old crew. All is right in the ad world.
Harry Crane (Rich Sommer)
Unlike some of the other ad men, Harry is easy to like. His sweet demeanor and nerdy personality make him a fun character to root for. Since season one Harry has been pioneering the TV market and even making up his own title of “head of the television department.” Harry has proven he’s a valuable asset to the SCDP team.