Matthew Weiner

While laboring on the sitcom "Becker" (CBS, 1998-2004), Matthew Weiner penned a television pilot for a series about an advertising agency in the early 1960s. The script caught the attention of writer-producer David Chase, who brought Weiner on board his Emmy-winning series "The Sopranos" (HBO, 1999-2007). There, Weiner penned some of the show's most memorable episodes. Weiner also served as a producer on "The Sopranos" during its final three seasons and shared in the show's Emmy windfall during final seasons. After "The Sopranos" ended its network run, he pitched his advertising script, titled "Mad Men" - a play on the term for advertising executives on New York's Madison Avenue - to numerous networks, including his former employers at HBO, but found no takers. He eventually landed the show at American Movie Classics (AMC), a basic cable network seeking to break out of its established mold as a nostalgia movie channel. The show was a sizable hit with critics and quickly put AMC on the map. It also served as the formal notice that Weiner was one of the most outstanding creative forces in 21st century television drama.