Biography

[on the National Public Radio program "Fresh Air with Terry Gross," describing how a personal crisis of his was the inspiration for his creation of Mad Men (2007)] My inspiration for writing this piece--the first moment of interaction with really where Don was--was: I was 35 years old; I had a job on a network sitcom; it was rated number nine (which means I was basically in Major League Baseball for my job--there's 300 people in the country that have this job, and I had one). I had three children, and I was like what--this incredible life--you know, I was like, 'What is wrong with me? Why am I unhappy? Why is there so much going on in my head that I can't express to other people because it's all awful? And what is enough? And I'm going to die one day.' And I'm looking at it and saying, 'This is it?' It could be an excuse to behave very badly.

[re_Mad Men (2007) We're on the landscape in a permanent way.That is nice to hear. I'm in the entertainment business, where you're only as good as your last show. I'm very aware of the transient nature of the audience and the business itself. Will we be in the books that list shows that won awards? Probably. Will there be some conversation about the show in the future? I hope so. I mean, my kids know who Columbo (1971) is, and that was a long time ago.

Where do I put ourselves in the history of television? I will put myself and the show under the category of 'very lucky'.

Mad Men (2007) is non-judgmental about human behavior. These people do a lot of what we would consider unlikable and unpleasant things. We all do. Rather than lying to you about human behavior, even though there's plenty of wish-fulfillment in the show, it acknowledges that it's hard to be a person. I think that's a part of what resonates with audiences.

[re The Sopranos (1999)] The casting of Gandolfini is very important because he allows us, because of his natural charisma, to enjoy all those fantasies of power that we wish we had. We love Tony because he has all of our animal appetites. Everyone would love to walk into a room and pick the biggest sandwich and take the best chair and have sex with the best-looking women. But at home he has the same life that we do. You can't get any respect at home! That's just the way it is.