What Really Pisses Me Off is the Way HBO Humiliated ‘Mad Men’ When The Sopranos Showrunner David Chase Personally Urged Them to Take a Look

When Mad Men first burst onto the scene in 2007, it was a breath of fresh air in the television world. From the get-go, it won over both viewers and critics and by the time the final episode aired, it had become a global sensation.

The show was so universally adored that it’s hard to find anyone pointing out its flaws. With its sharp writing and period-perfect style, Mad Men became one of Matthew Weiner’s crowing jewels while racking up an impressive array of awards.

What’s truly baffling to me, though, is how HBO, a network known for its daring and innovative shows, passed on it. It’s genuinely puzzling how such a groundbreaking series managed to slip through the cracks and go unnoticed.

How HBO Missed a Golden Opportunity!

Matthew Weiner, the mind behind Mad Men, thus finally shed light on how the show managed to slip through HBO’s fingers in the latest book, It’s Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO, by Felix Gillette and John Koblin.

His pitch for the hit show was ignored by the network’s new leadership after Chris Albrecht’s departure. According to the book, HBO President Carolyn Strauss dismissed Weiner’s pitch, despite the show’s pitch getting an endorsement by The Sopranos creator David Chase. He revealed(via IndieWire),

It was very disappointing to me, as I pushed the rock up the hill, that they did not notice me. Because I was part of the family.

Strauss also spoke out on passing this golden money maker saying,

That’s been [former HBO CEO] Richard [Plepler] ’s bugaboo forever,–Tell me a programmer who hasn’t passed on something. If you want to hold that as my grave, original sin, guilty.

Mad Men eventually landed a deal with AMC, and the rest is history. Set in the 1960s, the series was a career-maker for Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, and many more, and ended up earning 16 Emmy Awards over its seven seasons run.

Why Do People Love Mad Men So Much?

According to Don Draper’s philosophy, when someone is selling something, they are not just offering the product itself, what they are really selling is the experience and emotions it promises. As he famously puts it, “You are the product. You, feeling something. That’s what sells.”

Mad Men did exactly that! It didn’t just deliver a television show, it showed viewers what the Golden Age of TV feels like, he made it possible for people like us to experience the magic! The story, the characters, everything was excellently written. To further prove how brilliantly everything was thought out, Matthew Weiner in an interview with Time, revealed,

Part of my intention when I pitched the show, was, Wouldn’t it be amazing to do 10 or 12 years of these people’s lives, have the actors age that amount? And immediately, no matter how many bad things happen that first season, you will see Peggy and have nostalgia for her first day at work because you knew her then.

That’s why I love that definition [from the “Carousel” scene], about nostalgia being the pain from an old wound. There is a pleasure in sort of picking at that.

Don Draper (Jon Hamm) – Mad Men – Season 5, Episode 10 – Photo Credit: Jordin Althaus/AMC

Inspired by The Sopranos, though he wasn’t involved with it at the time, Matthew Weiner set out to tell the story of another high-flying yet discontented man on his off time while working on CBS’s Becker.

He chose the world of advertising for a change of pace, capturing the 1960s as it was turned upside down, and the show began to take shape. We are beyond grateful to have experienced such a show!

Mad Men is available to stream on AMC+