How to create a super hit series: case study from the showrunners of Mad Men

Maria and Andre Jacquemetton, showrunners of Mad Men, a project that received the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series three times, and also took four record Primetime Emmy Award in a row in the same nomination, will deliver a keynote on September 19 at KYIV MEDIA WEEK.

Partners in life and work, Maria and Andre Jacquemetton are showrunners of famous series Mad Men. Jacquemettons created the first six seasons of the project and left it before the 7th, final season, to sign a contract with Warner Bros. Television to develop series for cable TV.

When the Jacquemettons were in the show's team from 2007 to 2013, it became an international hit. And it also took the 7th place in the Top 101 series with the best scenarios in the history of television according to the Writers Guild of America.

Mad Men brought them a lot of nominations and victories at the most prestigious profile awards, including the WGA Award (TV), PGA Award, OFTA Television Award and Primetime Emmy. 

In addition to Mad Men, the filmography of this successful couple has a lot of high-profile projects. For example, such series as Baywatch, Relic Hunter, Star Trek: Enterprise, Versailles, The Romanoffs and many others.

‘The entire crew was at the top of their game. We had immensely talented writers and storytellers, with very different life experience. Some had a background in advertising, sit com, drama, we had an Academy Award winning writer/director, and playwrights. An important rule in the writers’ room was ‘cone of silence’ which made it a very trusting space. Story often comes from the real-life experiences of the writing staff, so writers need to feel comfortable to share their intimate memories. We also expected everyone to do his or her research. Attention to detail was part of what made the show special’, – Maria and Andre Jacquemetton tell about working on Mad Men.

As part of their keynote at KMW, supported by Vancouver Film School, they will reveal the secrets of the success of Mad Men and tell about the peculiarities of the showrunner's work on American channels.

Maria and Andre Jacquemettons’ keynote will be held on the third day of KYIV MEDIA WEEK (September 19) from 17:20 to 18:10.

KYIV MEDIA WEEK will be held on September 17-21, 2018 in Hyatt Regency Kyiv (Kyiv, Ukraine). Register for the media forum here. 

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Vancouver Film School is the leading Canadian school of postgraduate education in cinema, television and related fields. At the moment, it presents 13 directions for postgraduate studies in the most popular professions, including acting and scenario skills, film and television production, sound engineering, interactive and game design, etc. Among the graduates of the Vancouver Film School are many professionals who have succeeded in different fields of film and television. For example, the director of Clerks (1994) and Dogma (1999) Kevin Smith and director of District 9 (2009) Neill Blomkamp.