Here are some lovely new photos of Jon Hamm, Jennifer Westfeldt and their dog, whose name I do not know. Let’s call him Hammy the Hamm Dog. I would imagine that Jon and Jennifer (and Hammy) decided to step out for their happy family photo-op just in time to promote Mad Men’s Season 6, which premieres on Sunday. I’m a ride or die Mad Men bitch, I’ll admit it. I’ll probably put off watching Game of Thrones so I can watch Mad Men in real time. And I don’t need Jon’s bulge to remind me! Speaking of his bulge, you heard that underwear companies were offering to swaddle the Hamm Dong, right? I didn’t talk about it last week because I thought the stories were kind of cheap. Like, Jockey and Fruit of a Loom were trying to get some free press on Jon Hamm’s dong.

Meanwhile, I did find this interesting interview with Jon done by Digital Spy UK (the UK LOVES Mad Men, maybe even more than America loves Mad Men). You can read the full interview here, and here are some highlights:

Setting the scene in the late 1960s: “At this particular juncture – in not only American history but world history – there’s such a seismic shift of relevance between the older generation and the younger generation. The younger generation is really taking over every conversation, whether it’s music or theatre or television or film or even politics. The youth is having such an impact on all forms of expression. So I think Don is certainly someone that is feeling his relevance slip away, and for someone who trades in being smart and sharp and on observing human nature, I think that’s potentially devastating.”

Is Don Draper a sociopath or a psychopath: “I don’t think that’s inaccurate, but I do think he is probably a very high functioning one. A lot of his darkness is directed inside, inwardly, because he’s a man who’s fundamentally unhappy with himself. If you want to psychoanalyse it, you’re looking at somebody who literally takes on another person’s identity – you have to feel like that person doesn’t think very much of their original identity. So that comes back to Don being fundamentally broken and… why does he behave the way he behaves? In spite of this Dickensian upbringing that he had and this crazy life, he has survived and thrived, so what is the motivation behind that? I think that’s one of the other things that we’ll discover this season.”

Don’s relationships with Joan and Peggy: “We explore both of those relationships even further during this season. There’s a deep, deep respect and I think a little bit of fear from Don to Joan – he knows exactly who not to f**k with in that office, and she’s the one! Whereas Peggy, he’s very protective and proud of, because he sort of discovered her. Peggy was Don’s discovery and she’s very, very good – and because she’s very good, she’s very sought after. His influence and power [over her] are waning and he needs to figure that out.”

How will Don end up at the end of Mad Men? “I get asked this question a lot and it’s nice to be asked this question, because, 1) it leads me to believe that people give a s**t about this character, but also it lets me step out of it for a little bit and give a s**t about it as well. I hope and wish for some sort of balance in his life – this is a man who, as we find out more and more about his past, we realize just how fundamentally damaged he is and the fact that he’s been functioning this well for this long is sort of remarkable. When you see something broken, you want to fix it, and I think that Don’s broken nature is something that compels people to want to help, to want to fix it, to do what they can. I guess that’s why I’m compelled to want him to succeed – and in a psychological and emotional way. He’s done just fine professionally, but I want him just to be a better human being and find some sort of peace or love or harmony or balance. Maybe I saw Life of Pi one too many times, but I think he needs to find that place where he’s just… comfortable.”

[From Digital Spy]

Ooooh, this interview is getting me excited. One of the reasons I thought Season 5 sucked so hard – beyond the Megan Draper nonsense, which was just the worst – was that Peggy and Don weren’t together enough. Their relationship is the heart of the show. She is Don, just younger and female. There is a father-daughter thing, a brother-sister thing, a mentor-mentee thing, and a husband-wife thing all going on within Peggy and Don’s relationship, and while I understood the need for Peggy to “outgrow” Don, I still missed seeing them together more. I need more Peggy! And more Joan. Both of them together. All three of them. Something!

Meanwhile, AMC has released some teaser images from the new season – you can see them here. The sideburn situation is getting sketchy and I swear, Pete Campbell is starting to look like H.R. Halderman.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.