20 TV Shows That Are Practically Flawless

At its core, Mad Men is the character study of Jon Hamm's deceptive, ingenious ad executive Don Draper, a suave 60s conman whose life slowly (then very quickly) falls apart around him. More broadly, it's a sweeping tale of greed, privilege, ambition, capitalism and consumer culture, set in an era where these issues dominated.

Created by writer Matthew Weiner and running for seven seasons, the drama was consistently noted for its authentic historical detail, its gorgeous set design, and its pull-no-punches inclusion of themes such as power, memory, gender, sexuality and racism.

For all its detail and resonant motifs, though, Mad Men's strongest aspect came from its cast, specifically Jon Hamm but also John Slattery, Elisabeth Moss and Christina Hendricks, who each crafted such powerful and transformative characters that the series soared whenever just one of them was on-screen.