Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner talks about how his hugely popular series might end

November 15th 2011, 6:33am

We obviously don’t discuss too much television on JoBlo.com, but I’m making an exception here because AMC’s “Mad Men” is among the very best things currently happening in any medium.

So with that said, we turn to the show’s creator Matthew Weiner who recently sat down with Grantland and discussed, among other things, how he envisions his critically and culturally huge hit series coming to a close. I guess you could consider this slightly spoilery, but if you’re actually paying attention to what the show’s really about (contextualizing the thoughts and ideas of a bygone time to how they relate to the modern day), it really shouldn’t be surprising. In any event, here’s Weiner:

“I do know how the whole show ends… It came to me in the middle of last season. I always felt like it would be the experience of human life. And human life has a destination. It doesn’t mean Don’s gonna die. What I’m looking for, and how I hope to end the show, is like… It’s 2011. Don Draper would be 84 right now. I want to leave the show in a place where you have an idea of what it meant and how it’s related to you. It’s a very tall order, but I always talk about Abbey Road. What’s the song at the end of Abbey Road? It’s called ‘The End.’ There is a culmination of an experience of people working at their highest level. And all I want to do is not wear out the welcome. I was 35 when I wrote theMad Men pilot, 42 when I got to make it, and I’ll be 50 when it goes off the air. So that’s what you’re gonna get. Do I know everything that’s gonna happen? No, I don’t. But I just want it to be entertaining and I want people to remember it fondly and not think it ended in a fart.”

Abbey Road actually ends with “Her Majesty”, but the man’s point still stands – bringing it to the modern day, whether literally or otherwise, is the only way thematically the show could end. What do you think? Fans of the show, I know you’re out there! Chime in below and let us know what you think of Weiner’s thoughts or just the series in general.