THE MEN AND THE WOMEN OF MAD MEN
Season 2
Don Draper (Jon Hamm)
The newly-promoted partner at the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency who makes the plays in the boardroom and the bedroom. He struggles to stay a step ahead of the rapidly changing times with the young executives nipping at his heels and the entanglements in his personal life. Don thwarted a blackmail attempt by ambitious young account executive Pete that finally revealed Don’s true identity. Don Draper has survived, but Dick Whitman is struggling.
Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss)
After proving she possessed talent, Don Draper’s former assistant Peggy rose up the ranks to junior copywriter during her first year at Sterling Cooper. Her ambition to succeed was not blinded by the fact that she unexpectedly gave birth after months of ignoring her expanding waistline. How does unwed motherhood fit into Peggy’s bright future at the firm?
Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser)
The young, ambitious and reckless account executive at the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency is driven to prove his worth to his disappointed, blue-blooded parents. Pete’s young wife Trudy has plans for their own family, but his secret affair with Peggy provides an unexpected complication. Don dismissed Pete’s calculated blackmail attempt to gain a promotion. But is Pete now lying in wait to exploit the next self-serving opportunity?
Betty Draper (January Jones)
Don Draper’s wife and mother to their two children. Betty is a ‘proper’ housewife whose life, on the surface, belies the emotional undercurrents of her personal life. After revealing to her psychiatrist that she knows more than she lets on, will the Draper marriage survive her newfound perspective?
Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks)
As the head secretary at the Sterling Cooper agency, Joan is a smart modern professional, gifted at playing office politics. With her affair with Sterling Cooper partner Roger Sterling in the past, will Joan settle down?
Roger Sterling (John Slattery)
The cool and composed partner of the dynamic Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency. His father, who lived and died young, started the agency with Bertram Cooper. Roger’s cynical energy makes him the consummate ad man. Yet after two heart attacks, Roger’s life seems calmer. Is that what he wants?
Bertram Cooper (Robert Morse)
The “Cooper” in the masthead of the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency. ‘Bert’ is the founding partner of the agency he runs with Roger Sterling. A masterful and blunt ad man, Bert runs the agency with a zen-like presence over the employees and accounts.
Herman “Duck” Phillips (Mark Moses)
Hired to take over the position of Head of Accounts from newly-promoted Don Draper at Sterling Cooper. Phillips’ reputation as an aggressive and successful star in the advertising business precedes him, which could spell trouble for the staff as the competition heats up on all fronts.
Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt)
The art director at the dynamic Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency, Salvatore tries to be “one of the guys” in the predominantly WASPy corporate structure. Salvatore is used to hiding, or at least masking the truth about his sexuality, in order to fit in and succeed on Madison Avenue.
Paul Kinsey (Michael Gladis)
A copywriter (and a former flame of Joan Holloway) at the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency who dallies in writing plays. Paul is smart, creative and open-minded, leaning toward the new wave of bohemianism inhabiting New York City.
Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton)
A young account executive climbing his way up the corporate ladder at the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency. Ken had a short story published in The Atlantic Monthly, inciting jealousy among his colleagues.
Harry Crane (Rich Sommer)
Harry is an up-and-coming media buyer at the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency whose marriage was sent into upheaval after a brief fling with Pete’s secretary Hildy.
Mona Sterling (Talia Balsam)
Mona is Roger Sterling’s devoted wife. To be a good wife to a top corporate executive, she must also succeed as a socialite, lending her deft skills in promotion of her husband’s interests outside the office. On the surface, everything is perfect.
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