It's the beginning of the end for Mad Men. The final season of AMC's groundbreaking television drama resumes Sunday at 10 p.m., leading fans into the first of the show's last seven episodes.
The smoky and sexy television drama centres on talented but troubled advertising executive Don Draper and his complicated relationships with co-workers at the Manhattan agency Sterling Cooper & Partners.
It's been seven years since Mad Men premiered, winning audiences and accolades with its smart and stylish look back at 1960s gender roles, fashion and family politics.
Tidal wave of change
Starting in 1960, the series takes a long, strange trip through the turbulent decade, with characters such as the flawed hero Don (Jon Hamm), spurned matriarch Betty Draper/Francis (January Jones), determined go-getter Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) and smouldering office manager Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks), among others.
Elisabeth Moss, from left, Jon Hamm and Rich Sommer appear in a scene from Mad Men. The final season premieres Sunday at 10 p.m. on AMC. (Jaimie Trueblood/AMC/AP)
It was also an instrument of change for Semi Chellas, the Calgary-raised television and film showrunner who was asked to join the acclaimed series as a writer and executive producer in season 5.
"I was a huge fan of Mad Men in the first few seasons," Chellas told CBC's Kim Brunhuber in an interview in Los Angeles.
"I had seen all the episodes multiple times — I was mostly writing feature films at the time — and I always told my agent, 'You know, if there's ever a job on Mad Men, that's the one job I want.'"
So when the offer came from Mad Men's creator Matthew Weiner, Chellas moved her husband and then one-year-old child from Toronto to Los Angeles in a matter of days.
Why Mad Men resonates
It was a winning decision for Chellas, who picked up Emmy nominations for her writing on two groundbreaking episodes: Far Away Places (in which Roger Sterling takes LSD) and The Other Woman (in which Peggy quits Sterling Cooper for a promotion at another firm).
Semi Chellas, left, and Matthew Weiner display their trophies for the Writers Guild Award for outstanding script television, episodic drama, in 2013. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images for WGAw)
Chellas says the show's exploration of sexism, racism and social upheaval resonates with audiences.
"I don't think Matt [Weiner] ever wanted the show to be just a commentary on these things," says Chellas. "I think that's really what drew people to the show and kept them there, is that it's not presenting you with history. It's really presenting you with characters and their stories."
Mad Men also raised the bar for television drama, creating fresh demand for well-written shows and paving the way for other AMC series like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead.
Overall, the show has picked up numerous accolades, including 15 Emmys and four Golden Globes.
Changing what's cool
After seven years on the air, it has also had a significant effect on popular culture.
"I was listening to the radio the other day, and I heard a woman referred to as a 'Joan,' and you know exactly what that means," says Chellas.
January Jones (Betty Draper/Francis), Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson) and Christina Hendricks (Joan Holloway/Harris) are among Mad Men's female leads. (AMC)
"To put that sort of style and that sense of fashion and those iconic characters into the world … it changed what was cool."
Weiner and Chellas are keeping tight-lipped about what's in store for Mad Men's final seven episodes.
Even the year in which the story picks up on Sunday is being kept a secret.
"Matt had a vision of where he wanted the series to end," says Chellas, referring again to Weiner, her co-writer and co-executive producer.
"I think he knows what people who have been loyal to his show, and have loved the show and have invested in it, what they deserve — [but it] may not be what they want."
In Sunday's premiere episode, Severance, "Don tries to track down a friend, Joan struggles to solve a problem with an account and Peggy is set up by an unlikely person," reads AMC's description, but fans will have to tune in to see how it all turns out.
Watch Kim Brunhuber's interview with Chellas in the video above.
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