The off screen history of Mad Men (Hollywood Reporter)

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Weiner's Madison Avenue opus sat in a drawer for another three years — until a cable network with zero experience in original scripted programming (formerly American Movie Classics) stepped in and self-financed a pilot. Today, nine years later, Mad Men, which on April 5 begins its final seven episodes, is a pop cultural phenomenon that not only has made stars out of its cast of unknowns — Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks, January Jones, Vincent Kartheiser, Elisabeth Moss and John Slattery — but also transformed AMC into one of the most influential networks on the dial and set off cable TV's gold rush for scripted dramas.

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