Mad Men is a drama set in the 1960s. Many would say that it focuses on Don Draper - and that may be true for the initial seasons - but later on you get much more of an ensemble cast. Don is a talented advertising executive at New York’s Sterling Cooper agency. Eventually, the ad agency becomes Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce as Don becomes a partner in the firm and (brings in?) Lane Pryce it inject some cash in the struggling firm.  The plot of the story follows Don's professional triumphs (although I would also argue that it's about the evolution of the ad agency and society around it), along with Don's hidden dark past, and turbulent personal life.

The last minute of the series finale was the iconic "I want to buy the world a Coke" ad, which I think perfectly encapsulates the series: interesting slogans, but really, advertising is devoid of substance.  While Don seems to shed his turbulent past and joins a mediation/mindfulness/hippy community, there is a question as to whether this cumbbaya moment patched him up emotionally to go back to the ad agency to create that ad.

Other notables:  Pete throughout the series tries to be a Don Jr...and he can't pull it off; and I really know why you'd want to be a Don given the alcoholism, womanizing, and unstable life.  I'm sure it looked glamorous from the outside, but as Pete found out, it's not a lifestyle to be emulated if you want to be happy. It was good to see things settling down for him. I was a bit upset at Betty's (Don's first wife) cancer diagnosis. I wish the character has a happied ending, but that ain't life, I guess.  The silver lining is that she seems to finally be doing something she really wanted: going back to college (for as long as she has) and studying the things she wanted to study. Roger Sterling, finally started dating someone in a peer age group, so I guess that's growth, and Peggy embraces her workaholism, which I guess good for her?

Not a bad series, but it sure is depressing.