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The long delayed fifth season of AMC's Mad Men, TV's current Best Show, finally premieres in three weeks, meaning Mad madness is kicking into high gear. But what do we really know about what's about to arrive? Well, not much, unfortunately.
AMC has released this season five "preview" that isn't much of a preview at all. Sure we hear some vague generalities from show creator Matthew Weiner and some of the cast, but what are they really saying? Nothing, really.
If you want to do a little art-analysis guess work, you could try to dissect the recently released promo poster that features a chapeau-clad Don gazing into a store window. The lady mannequin is naked while the man mannequin is dressed in leisure wear. Is this a nod to Hugh Hefner? Might some sort of Playboy something be in the offing? Is Don living a life of comfort now that he's engaged (or married) to his French-Canadian secretary? Does she not own clothes? There are a million (non-) clues to be gleaned from this. And series creator Matt Weiner has promised, "By the end of the season, I guarantee you’ll know what it is about." So, consider the fifth season spoiled.
There had been some speculation, by us at least, about how much January Jones would be on the show this season, as her character Betty is divorced from Don and not really central to the story anymore. (Well, she is, but not as immediately as she used to be.) But it appears that yes indeed we will be getting plenty of Jones' frozen cardboard stylings, at least if this "Betty Is Back" ad isn't misleading us. So that's kind of exciting! Jones might not be Uta Hagen exactly, but Betty Draper is a great, complicated weirdo of a character that we want lots more of.