Mad Men is back in August. (Teaser.) Can't freekin' wait!

Jon Hamm on the timeline, etc.:

The series jumps up to 1962. Was that weird to film?
Well, think about what you were doing fourteen months ago. Maybe you had different glasses, but it was pretty close. So it wasn't "OH MY GOD they have muttonchops and go to the disco."

From Basket of Kisses:

Mad Men is a serious exploration of how we became who we are. How the generation that grew up in the Great Depression, fought two consecutive wars and gave birth to the baby boom, also transitioned our society from its rural, localized roots, into a global economic and cultural force mighty enough to sustain and win the Cold War.

But it's also about how we went from simple to complicated, from contented citizens to ravenous acquirers. It's about how we learned to sell. And consume.

In this context, we meet Don Draper. We meet him in medias res, which is Latin for "in the midst of affairs," so that's both a literal and figurative phrase. Fairly quickly we find out that he's unfaithful yet strangely loyal. He's inspiring yet he doesn't always live up to his word. He's dazzlingly attractive yet prone to letting people down. He appears rock solid, yet is constantly reinventing himself. He portrays brilliant confidence, yet is deeply scared inside. He looks like an insider, yet identifies with those on the outside. He's constructed a veneer of high polish, yet possesses no real depth. He's admired, but not really known. He's foolish yet wise.

Yep. Like the U.S. of A. looking in the mirror.