With AMC’s award-winning series Mad Men returning Sunday night, I recently had the chance to participate in a roundtable interview with Jon Hamm.  Since the cast is always guarded when talking about upcoming storylines, most of the interview covered the big storylines of last season, his reaction to reading the script for the season 6 premiere, the meaning behind the new poster, Don’s attraction to Megan, the challenges of directing and acting with the tight schedule, how much Matthew Weiner tells him about the season, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to what Hamm had to say.

With AMC’s award-winning series Mad Men returning Sunday night, I recently had the chance to participate in a roundtable interview with January Jones.  Since the cast is always guarded when talking about upcoming storylines, most of the interview covered the way Betty Draper (Jones’ character) has changed over the five seasons, the big storyline of last season, how even the actors don’t know what’s coming up on future episodes until they get the script, her costumes, her thoughts on Don and Betty getting back together, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to what Jones had to say.

AMC has released a batch of images from the upcoming season six premiere of Mad Men, titled “The Doorway”.  As is executive producer/showrunner Matthew Weiner’s wont, the images reveal extremely little by way of plot details, but this is our first semi-look at footage from the new season.  It’s clear that Megan (Jessica Pare) is sticking around for the time-being, and sideburns appear to be all the range among the male castmembers as we move firmly into the 1970s with this new season.  The series has yet to stumble as far as I’m concerned (season five came the closest to being a misstep re: Megan), and so I’m incredibly eager to dive back into the Mad Men world this weekend.  How great is it to have new episodes of Mad Men and Game of Thrones on the same night?

Hit the jump to take a look at the new images, and check back here on Collider later this week for Steve’s interviews with Weiner and the cast regarding the upcoming season.  Mad Men season six kicks off with a two-hour premiere on Sunday, April 7th on AMC.

Though the clips featured in the latest Mad Men promo from AMC all come from last season (because as we all know, creator Matthew Weiner keeps an iron grip around most of the promotional material), the message is still clear: moving forward, things are still not going to get easier for Don Draper (Jon Hamm).

The show has also released a telling poster that highlights Don’s internal struggle as he tries to move forward with his life but keeps getting pulled back into his old ways.  There have also been a few glamourous promo photos that tease the show’s movement into the 1970s.  For the latest TV trailer and a few thoughts on the upcoming season, hit the jump.

AMC has slowly been teasing us with promotional pictures and teasers for the upcoming season of Mad Men, but we’ve finally made the jump to color with this latest batch.  In them we see some characters not featured in the other promos, including Stan and his magnificent beard, as well as Ginsberg posing as Colonel Sanders.  Joan is resplendent with her deep cerulean blue gown while Megan’s hair is in need of a warning beacon for incoming jets.  Above all, there’s baby Eugene, who is now a toddler from the Renaissance.  Hit the jump for the pics.

Fresh off yesterday’s unveiling of a magnificent poster for the upcoming sixth season of the drama series Mad Men, AMC has now released a new featurette for the show.  Though there’s no new footage to scrutinize, we do get to see castmembers Jon Hamm, Jessica Pare, and Rich Sommer talk about what fans can expect from the new season alongside creator/showrunner/mastermind Matthew Weiner.  With season seven poised to be the show’s last, Hamm describes the upcoming season as “like getting almost to the end of a great book.”  Weiner teases a central focus on Don for season six, saying the new episodes will give viewers “a lot of insight into Don, a new dynamic, and people striving to grow up.”  Also, Sommer is rocking some serious late 60s/early 70s sideburns.  This show cannot come back fast enough.

Hit the jump to watch the new featurette.  The two-hour season six premiere of Mad Men airs on AMC on Sunday, April 7th.

AMC has unveiled the first poster for the upcoming sixth season of Mad Men, and it’s pretty stellar.  Creator/showrunner Matthew Weiner reached out to legendary advertising illustrator Brian Sanders to create the poster for the new season of the critically-hailed drama series, and Sanders has turned out a truly excellent piece of artwork that I hope AMC plans on making available as full prints.  As usual with all things Mad Men, we know absolutely nothing about the upcoming season.  Weiner has teased yet another time jump when the show returns, and describes the two-hour season premiere as a movie unto itself.  With season seven planned as the show’s last, I’m looking forward to seeing how things unfold in this penultimate set of episodes (more Peggy, less Megan please).

Hit the jump to check out the poster.  The two-hour season six premiere of Mad Men airs on AMC on Sunday, April 7th.

Notoriously tight-lipped Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner has allowed AMC to drop a few more tidbits about the upcoming sixth season of the juggernaut drama in a new on-air promo.  The spot features some of the recently released black and white images that show all of the principle cast draped in late 1960s fashion, but now made slightly 3D (ok, AMC).  It also features the tagline, “You’re invited to the affair of the year.”

Like Season Five, the upcoming season will kick off with a two-hour premiere (without a title as of yet) that will be written by Weiner and directed by executive producer Scott Hornbacher.  The show will also start an hour earlier than its regular time slot (9 p.m.) which it will return to the following week (10 p.m.) with an episode written by Jonathan Igla and Weiner, and directed by series star Jon Hamm.  For the promo spot and more, hit the jump.

Though the 2013 Sundance Film Festival certainly hasn’t been lacking in coming of age stories or tales of ennui over the past week, the fest also played host to a peculiar western called Sweetwater.  Directed by Logan and Noah Miller, the film stars January Jones as a woman in the 19th century west who runs up against a flamboyant and dangerous preacher (Jason Isaacs) and a rambunctious sheriff (Ed Harris) when her world is thrown into chaos.

I had the chance to speak with Jones in Park City earlier this week in anticipation of the film’s premiere, and she talked about keeping her character grounded opposite the colorful performances by Isaacs and Harris, the ambiguity of her character at the beginning of the film, and what influenced her performance.  In addition, Jones talked about her non-involvement in the sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past and the evolution of her character Betty on Mad Men over the past five seasons.  Read on after the jump.

It’s a good day to be a Mad Men fan.  Early this morning we learned that season six of the celebrated AMC drama series is poised to kick off on April 7th with a two-hour premiere, and now the network has released a batch of elegant images of the cast from the upcoming season.  Naturally, everyone is drinking and smoking and laughing.  It’s a fine way of easing fans back into the world of Mad Men, and the images are pretty revealing in that we can see that (spoiler alert) Pete has sideburns!  Shocking stuff.

Hit the jump to check out the images, which feature Jon Hamm, January Jones, Jessica Pare, Kiernan Shipka, Elizabeth Moss, John Slattery, Christina Hendricks, Vincent Kartheiser, Aaron Stanton, Rich Sommer, and Robert Morse.  Season six of Mad Men premieres on AMC on April 7th.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mad Men season six now has a firm ETA.  AMC announced today that the season six premiere of the hit drama series will air on April 7th, with a two-hour episode that creator Matthew Weiner likens to a movie.  This is pretty much exactly how season five began, as the show had been off the air for a considerable amount of time and Weiner wanted to give viewers a two-hour episode that played like a mini-Mad Men movie.  Weiner also confirmed that season six will be the second to last season of the series, as previously reported.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say about heading towards the end of Mad Men and not holding all the “big stuff” for the final season.

The nominations for the 2013 Producers Guild Awards have been announced.  The PGA’s are a fairly reliable predictor of the Academy Awards, as last year all but two eventual Best Picture nominees (The Tree of Life and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) were PGA nominees.  This year’s contenders include expected fare like Argo, Les Miserables, and Lincoln, indies such as Beasts of the Southern Wild and Moonrise Kingdom, and critical favorite Zero Dark Thirty.  The PGA’s are also fond of singling out one “popular” choice, and in this year’s case that film looks to be the excellent Skyfall

In addition to the feature films, the PGAs also announced the nominees in television.  Drama series nominees include the usual suspects like Homeland, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones, while the comedy category is filled out by 30 Rock, Louie, Modern Family, and for some reason The Big Bang Theory.  Notably absent is HBO’s Girls and NBC’s brilliant Parks and Recreation.  Hit the jump to check out the full list of film and television nominees.  The 24th Annual PGA Awards will be held on January 26th.

The last twelve months have been great for TV, with some decidedly memorable moments.  We’re still firmly entrenched in this Second Golden Age of Television … if you discount 90% of what’s out there (looking at you, reality television!).  There were some great hits, some surprising flops and a few heartening comebacks.  After the jump you’ll find some of my picks for the best, worst, most confusing and also the most underrated of the year (spoiler-free!).  It’s not meant to be exhaustive or definitive, but contains a few memories and considerations from 2012.  And though I do watch an ungodly amount of TV, there’s plenty I’m not caught up on, so let me know what I’ve missed. Hit the jump to check it out.

The American Film Institute has announced its annual Top 10 lists.  In the film category, this awards season’s usual suspects popped up as Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Argo, Les Miserables and Silver Linings Playbook made the cut alongside Django Unchained and Moonrise Kingdom.  AFI is notable for also including a few popular titles on their lists (last year Bridesmaids and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo landed in the Top 10), and this year is no exception as fan-favorite The Dark Knight Rises nabbed a spot.  Notably absent, though, is Paul Thomas Anderson’s polarizing drama The Master.

On the TV side of things, Emmy-winner Homeland made the cut as well as Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Louie, The Walking Dead, and FX’s American Horror Story.  AMC’s Mad Men landed on the list for a fifth time, making it the most recognized AFI Awards TV honoree in history.  Hit the jump to check out the full Top 10’s for both TV and Film.

The Producers Guild of American announced the TV and Digital Series nominations for the 24th Annual Producers Guild Awards today.  The Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television Drama nominees include Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland, and Mad Men, while the comedy category consists of 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Louie, and Modern Family.  Hit the jump to see the full list of nominees.  All other nominations (including film) will be announced on January 3, 2013, followed by the 2013 Producers Guild Award ceremony on January 26, 2013.