The return of Don Draper: 'Mad Men' season six to premiere April 7th

AMC Television has announced that the Emmy award-winning “Mad Men” will return for its sixth season on April 7. The premiere episode will be two hours long, written by “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner and directed by executive producer Scott Hornbacher. Jon Hamm, who plays the series' philandering ad exec antihero Don Draper, will direct the following week's episode.

The announcement brought joy to the show's legions of dedicated fans. Here in Austin, the Alamo Drafthouse will offer free screenings of the show as part of its "TV at the Alamo" series. This season, fans are advised to get tickets online well in advance, as all Austin-area Drafthouses have adopted a reserved seating policy.

In a typically cryptic interview with the New York Times, Matthew Weiner spoke of the upcoming season. “It will advance in time, as it does. I can’t say how much or how little. We’re coming off a period in Don’s life where he’s trying to normalize, and trying to have this relationship – a real relationship with this woman that he fell in love with...On this show, it’s a very rich, full orchestra, and we like to follow what is the next stage in these people’s lives.”

Of the two-hour premiere episode, Weiner offered little in the way of concrete details, but did say that “It has some cliffhanger elements to it, it does propel you into the rest of the season — it does foreshadow a lot what the season is about. But I was like, I want to write a movie here, that we can create the atmosphere and vibe of the season.”

Weiner's fellow executive producers Maria and Andre Jacquemetton advised him to "Approach the season the way you always approach it — go for broke, use up everything you have and we’ll deal with it later...When you’re on a show where drama is somebody watching a phone ring, you really shouldn’t take out any story ideas you have.”

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J.M. Dobies, Austin Classic Movies Examiner Facebook Page