'Mad Men' turns period drama into an exclamation point

After the first season of "Mad Men," AMC's startling, provocative series about admen in 1960s New York, the cast was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding drama ensemble. Matthew Weiner, the show's creator and executive producer, walked the red carpet with stars January Jones, Christina Hendricks and Elisabeth Moss, but nobody noticed them. As Weiner recalls, "I was thinking, 'I wish people would take their picture; they're so good, they're so beautiful.' "

What a difference a year makes. The cast was duly besieged on the red carpet this January, and not only because it won the SAG Award for its second season. Weiner and his cast and crew have watched in amazement as the show has taken hold in the popular imagination. In the last year, hit shows have parodied them. Political columnists have made mention of them. Stories on design began replacing the term "midcentury modern" with " 'Mad Men'-era." Clothing designer Michael Kors called the series an inspiration, and a recent New York Times fashion story linked the resurgent appeal of vintage watches to the show.

"We're all a little dumbfounded. I don't think you quite prepare yourself to know how to respond to being part of the culture," says Vincent Kartheiser, who plays weaselly accounts man Pete Campbell. The attention is even more impressive considering the show's modest ratings: Last year it averaged 1.5 million viewers.

Weiner realized something big was happening in the middle of the second season. "I overheard people talking about an episode in a Starbucks, and I couldn't believe it." For Jon Hamm, who stars as Don Draper, winning the distinguished Peabody Award was a turning point. "That's one of those awards you think you'll only hear about," he says. The show shut down production to fly everyone out to New York for the ceremony.

Elisabeth Moss, who plays secretary turned adwoman Peggy Olson, was stunned when the show won the Golden Globe for best drama last year and Hamm won for best actor. "Every single time we go to an awards show, if we win anything, we're shocked and ecstatic," Moss says, "but because this was the first time, I think it was a real moment of realizing that people were watching the show, and that was a big deal to us." Many more accolades followed, including the first Emmy win for outstanding drama for a basic cable series.