10 TV Shows That REALLY Shouldn't Have Worked

Certain ideas, tropes and settings come around time and time again in the world of television. Comedies are often set in bars, the hero gets the girl and dramas are often centred on criminals, police officers or lawyers.

In 2007, it would have been fair to dismiss a TV drama that focussed on the lives and work of Advertising Executives. But 7 seasons, 16 Emmys and 5 Golden Globes later, Mad Men certainly proved that Advertising Agencies were as interesting as any Law Firm.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest television series of all time, Mad Men follows womanizing creative director Don Draper and other characters at the fictional Sterling Cooper ad agency. The show portrays Don’s relationships with his family and co-workers, whilst also engaging with the changing social mood and issues of the US during the 1960s.

Issues such as identity, counterculture, racism and sexual politics are all part of the shows complex, brooding narrative. And whilst the suits and whiskey drinking are all somewhat cool, the show’s characters are often complex, troubled and certainly problematic.

Mad Men was ironically a show that just needed a good sales pitch. Fittingly, you come for the show’s debonair visuals, but you stay for the writing, characters and excellent performances.