The Best Books, Movies, Video Games, and Podcasts to Check Out After Watching ‘Mad Men’[html]
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Mad Men is a show that transcends its logline. On its face, it sounds a bit dull and mildly ridiculous—a show about Madison Avenue ad men in the stodgy early 1960s?—but Matthew Weiner and his cast delivered one of the best TV shows ever, a deep dive into the changing mores of America across the '60s, as the Consumer Age came into dominance.
If you miss the detailed recreations of the era, the fab fashions, and Don Draper’s fascinating antihero aura—and you’ve already burned through our suggestions for streamalike shows—there are still plenty of movies, books, podcasts, and even video games that can scratch that itch.
The best books like Mad Men
Mad Men was a literary show. Aside from all the overt allusions to and actual books visually referenced on the show, there’s a writerly aspect to the scripts that made it feel like a collection of short stories as much as a TV series. If you want more of that vibe, here are some great books to dive into.
The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson
An obvious influence on the show, The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit was a bestseller in 1955, and the title became shorthand for a certain type of middle-class American. It’s the story of Tom Rath, a World War II veteran and family man making his way up the corporate ladder while dealing with what we would now recognize as PTSD, not to mention the new pressures of affluence. Like Don Draper, Tom keeps up the appearance of a detached, confident businessman while his inner monologue is a riot of conflicting emotions and stress.
The Best of Everything, by By Rona Jaffe
Jaffe was just 26 when she wrote this, her debut novel, and it offers the perfect alternate perspective on the Mad Men era (Don Draper, in fact, is seen reading it in season one). The story follows five young women who work at a big office in Manhattan, and details their lived experience as people with dreams, as sex objects routinely harassed at work, and as willing participants in extramarital affairs and other scandalous behavior. It’s a snapshot of a bygone era with the same depth and attention to detail as the show.
Confessions of an Advertising Man, by David Ogilvy
Sure, you can (and should, because it’s hilarious) actually buy a copy of Sterling’s Gold, the fictional memoir by Roger Sterling from Mad Men. But you should also read the book that filled Sterling with so much envy—Confessions of an Advertising Man, by advertising legend David Ogilvy. It’s basically an instruction manual in which Ogilvy shares the lessons he’d learned from decades in the business, and it established him as a kind of Ad Guru for the 1960s. If you want insight into how real "Mad Men" thought, this is the book for you.
Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates
Mad Men often feasted on the theme of affluent ennui and suburban malaise—no matter how successful or wealthy Don and everyone around him becomes, they’re desperately bored and unhappy. One of the most potent moments on the show comes late in the series: Don has reached the pinnacle of professional success and is sitting in a boring meeting when he
" target="_blank" title="open in a new window" rel="noopener">spots a plane in the sky outside his window—and just stands up and leaves for an adventure. That’s the energy in
Yates’ classic, tragic novel: Frank and April Wheeler plan to escape the trap of 1950s American drudgery by saving up to live in France and live as bohemians, but their empty lives can't support their outsized dreams.
Seconds, by David Ely
This 1963 novel should be better known (as should the 1966 film adaptation, which is perhaps the best work Rock Hudson ever did), and it’s ideal for Mad Men fans because it’s also about a successful man who can’t seem to resist the urge to flee his happy life and reimagine himself. In this case, literally: "Wilson,” as the 50-ish bank executive in this book calls himself, signs up with a company that fakes his death, remakes him into a physically younger man, and sets him up with his dream career in an all-new life, to disastrous consequences. There’s no doubt Don Draper would have done this if he had the chance.
The best movies like Mad Men
Mad Men might be literary, but it’s also a damn fine-looking show. If you want some feature-length entertainment that explores the same time period and similar themes, you can’t go wrong with these movies.
A Single Man (2009)
Based on the 1964 novel by Christopher Isherwood, this film follows middle-aged professor George Falconer (Colin Firth) on the day he has decided to commit suicide due to the unbearable grief he feels after losing his long-time partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). He initially observes everything he experiences with renewed interest, believing it will be the last time he does so, but his encounters over the course of the day impact him in unexpected ways. It’s a gorgeous glimpse of the early 1960s and the story of a man living—and ruined by—a double life. Stream A Single Man on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video.
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
A 1960s-set period piece about a brilliant man who won’t get out of his own way? That’s a perfect match with Mad Men. In 1961 New York, Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is a struggling folk singer in the time just before Bob Dylan’s breakthrough. Broke and bitter, his life collapses around him as poor decisions, grief, and simple bad luck conspire to make him consider giving up his dreams. It’s a lot funnier than that sounds, and a brilliant examination of a narcissist who has the looks and talent but not the moral fortitude to make it big. Aside from the pitch-perfect recreation of the time and place, fans of the show will appreciate it as a deep character study. Stream Inside Llewyn Davis on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video.
The Apartment (1960)
If you ever thought the rampant sexism and alcohol-soaked chicanery in your average episode of Mad Men was a bit over the top, The Apartment will set you straight. In 1960 Manhattan, C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) is an ambitious clerk in an enormous insurance company who allows the executives in his division to use his bachelor apartment to stage their extramarital affairs. It’s both hilarious and heartbreaking, and a contemporaneous depiction of what office life was like, contemporaneous to the first season of Mad Men is set. Stream The Apartment on Kanopy or rent it on Prime Video.
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