In the 21st century alone, television has become the new medium for some of the best storytelling and greatest entertainment on screen. Fans have a plethora of new shows to explore on a consistent basis to this point where it is almost overwhelming. It didn’t always used to be this way, and when cinematic TV was something unique, the few shows that used the format had an even bigger impact on audiences. Nowadays, audiences are so accustomed to the long-form cinematic storytelling that TV provides, but if not for shows like The Sopranos, The Wire, The Shield and others, the three-camera/sound stage format that populated the medium for decades might still be the predominant form. One popular show in the early days of cinematic television that had a big effect on viewers was the AMC masterpiece Mad Men, which premiered the same year The Sopranos ended.
In many ways, Mad Men was a direct result of the success of The Sopranos. Airing around the same time as formative cable shows like Deadwood, Entourage and Dexter, Mad Men was AMC’s attempt at bringing their own interesting stories to television. This was especially true with another company already bringing the cinematic form to network TV. Before AMC mimicked cable’s success, FX did it first and AMC wanted to capitalize on the popularity of the medium’s evolution as well. Just a year after Mad Men, Breaking Bad aired on AMC and, in 2010, The Walking Dead was their big hit. They were becoming a great source of cinematic TV. However, of all their shows, Mad Men might still be their masterpiece, but it often lives in Breaking Bad’s shadow. Mad Men did a lot of things well, but they also mirrored the direction of The Sopranos better than any other show, including with their ending.
Mad Men Is the Quintessential Cinematic Melodrama of the 21st Century
It Merges Elements of Old Form and New Form Television
One defining quality of Mad Men is its use of inner personal relationships and the day-to-day exploration of ordinary life. At its core, Mad Men exists as a very conventional TV melodrama that isn’t unlike other shows that have existed on network television for decades. It can be compared to other network dramas and even daytime soap operas in some ways. This was not uncommon for early cinematic shows, and these elements even exist in parts of The Sopranos, The Wire, The West Wing and Breaking Bad, among others. What this refers to is a focus on menial or familiar aspects of life that are expressed through dramatized characters, relationships, and situations.
These kinds of shows never needed an extra hook for the audience because their primary function was to make audiences relate to the realness of life portrayed in the story. Mad Men exists in this way, but on a whole different level. By taking the familiar drama of life and putting it in the cinematic form, Mad Men was able to transcend the old network drama style and become one of the most hyper-stylized melodramas in the history of TV. Following an ad agency executive named Don Draper and his day-to-day routines was interesting enough for fans of conventional dramas. However, Mad Men also utilized a specific period piece landscape by taking place in the 1960s.
The backdrop of Mad Men was designed specifically to explore the golden age of the ad agency business through the eyes of a prototypical male protagonist. Don Draper is a symbol of flawed heroic archetypes, masculinity and Americanism. By exploring Draper’s work and family life, Mad Men became a must-watch workplace/family drama every year. It ran for seven seasons and an epic ninety-two episodes from 2007 to 2015. The production design, costumes, cinematography and situations made it one of the most beautiful examples of cinematic television and an influential work in the new age of the medium.
These elements also made it one of the greatest period pieces ever, in any medium. However, the show ultimately thrived because of the impeccable writing and stellar performances. Mad Men can often get overlooked when thinking about all the shows that helped shape 21st century TV, but it was certainly one of those redefining shows. John Hamm is incredible, but the series also features fantastic performances from big names that were just starting out including Elisabeth Moss, January Jones, Vincent Kartheiser, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Alison Brie, and even briefly Maggie Siff (just prior to playing Tara on Sons of Anarchy). It has been nearly a decade since it ended, and it still exists fondly in the memories of most audiences.
Mad Men Features A Cryptic Ending Like The Sopranos
Both Shows End With Similar Shots
One of the most iconic TV moments in history occurred in 2007, and it wasn’t because that was the year Mad Men premiered. The most popular show in history up to that point had its confounding finale, and left audiences clamoring for answers about the fate of Tony Soprano. The Sopranos ending was so memorable that it is still discussed and debated to this day. Fans know it well, where Tony Soprano is meeting up with his family for dinner, and while Tony, Carmela and A.J. wait for Meadow to arrive, a tense sequence unfolds where everyone who walks through the front door of the diner makes audiences wonder if Tony is safe.
Then, as Meadow charges through the front door, there is a cut to black that occurs when Tony looks up. It is a cryptic and ambiguous way to end one of the most popular shows of all time. However, Mad Men also had a cryptic ending that is on par with endings like The Sopranos. Most of the characters in the show have greatly developed by the time the final episode of Mad Men rolls around. With that being said, audiences were left wondering about many of the characters after the credits rolled on the finale. There were some things left up in the air, and Don Draper’s final moment is left for audiences to interpret.
The final scene plays out with Don Draper away from work on a meditation retreat. This is something you would never see him doing in season one. While he is meditating, there is push in on him with his eyes closed, and he expresses a slight smile before the scene cuts away. Interestingly enough, the scene doesn’t cut away to black like in The Sopranos but to an iconic Coca-Cola ad that the average viewer remembers very well. It’s probably one of the most famous ads of all time. It’s the «I’d Like To Buy the World a Coke» commercial that played constantly back in the day. This implies that Don Draper was the one behind the iconic ad, and comes out of a place in his life and mental state where he has finally found peace and acceptance.
The smile in a meditation pose is meant to imply this, and it is how a lot of fans have interpreted it. However, some fans are a little dissatisfied with an element of ambiguity concerning the resolution of Don and other characters on the show. While both Mad Men and The Sopranos are meant to make the audience think about what happens next, Mad Men definitely ends with a little more closure than The Sopranos. Both endings have a similar intention and even end in a similar way. Both shows have a final shot of the main protagonist who led their respective series for years and years.
Mad Men Is More Connected to The Sopranos Than Fans Realize
This Could Be Why They Have Similar Endings
The Sopranos paved the way for the TV shows audiences are so accustomed to today, but a lot of the shows that came out during the golden age of cinematic television that helped The Sopranos pave the way are directly connected to the iconic gangster series. In a lot of ways, many shows wouldn’t exist without The Sopranos literally teaching writers the new form. Many writers who worked on The Sopranos created their own TV shows. In fact, many of these writers made some of the best TV shows of the 21st century. Shows like Boardwalk Empire and Damages hail from the writing tree that made The Sopranos.
One writer was Matthew Weiner, who wrote many episodes of The Sopranos as a staff writer on the show. Weiner would create and executive producer Mad Men. The way David Chase’s baby was The Sopranos, Weiner’s baby was Mad Men. Chase taught a lot of up-and-coming writers how to tell great stories, and also taught them tricks that were going to be important for the future of television. Perhaps what Matt Weiner learned from David Chase led directly to some decisions he ended up making on Mad Men. This includes how he ultimately ended the show. Regardless of how fans feel about both endings, there’s no denying that both shows had an incredible impact on the television format that exists today.
