'Mad Men' finds fan in President Barack Obama

07/21/2010 by Corinne Heller

U.S. President Barack Obama recently wrote a letter to Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, saying he was a fan of the Emmy-winning 1960's-themed drama series.

"I kind of considered it a private thing, because I got to open it with my kids, this letter," Weiner told OnTheRedCarpet.com at a recent Los Angeles premiere of the AMC show's fourth season, which begins on Sunday. "But I love it that he's seen the show."

"I think he's really in touch with the population and I think if America's interested in things, he's interested in them," he told reporter Bruce Reynolds. "But you know what, I'm a huge fan of Obama. I can't imagine how different his life is than mine and that my work is in front of his eyes and on his mind, even for a few minutes - it's the ultimate audience."

Elisabeth Moss, who plays copywriter Peggy Olson, said Weiner showed her the letter, adding: "Matt was carrying it around for a while."

A 2008 profile of Obama in The New York Times magazine said that a DVD of the show was spotted on a side table inside his campaign plane.

"That was a pretty impressive fact that we've reached that level of penetration in the culture and Matt's obviously very proud, as we all are, that the president has taken notice," said Jon Hamm, who plays main character Don Draper and in season four continues his job as a partner in new breakaway ad firm Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

Mad Men, which has won the Best Drama Emmy for the past two years, is nominated for 17 Emmy Awards this year (Check out a full list of Emmy nominations).

"If you look at the history of the show, it started very small and has built significantly throughout the history of its run," Hamm said. "We look to continue that and to keep adding new viewers and hopefully remain entertaining while still trying to tell the story that we want to tell."