Mad Men Emmy Nominations: Bad Parenting Makes Great TV!


mad men emmy nominations
mad men emmy nominations

by AD Lynn/ Babble.com

Emmy nominations are a sure sign of what's working and what's not on TV, and one thing's for sure: viewers and critics love bad parents. Mad Men and its wayward moms and dads took home 16 nominations (beat only by 22 nods for 30 Rock, and 17 for the HBO movie Grey Gardens). Four of Mad Men's acting nods went to characters who aren't exactly parenting role models. And yet, we love them (be still my heart!). Let's have a look atMad Men's Emmy-nominated "Parenting Don'ts."

1. January Jones, nominated for her role as Betty Draper. Betty smokes and talks on the phone while her kids throw food against the walls. She jets off to Vegas for several weeks for a quickie divorce, while leaving the kids home with the maid. She seems, to a degree, to hate her new baby. She flirts with a mid-level government exec while the kids are in school and her husband is at work. She endorses spanking, and has shut at least one of her children in a closet. Of course, her husband isn't much better in the parenting department…

2. Jon Hamm, nominated for his role as Don Draper. Don's issue is largely one of absence. He loves his kids, but isn't around enough to know them. He's always at the office. Or having a tryst in a hotel room. Or flirting with female business contacts. When he is around, say when he attends his children's school May Day performance, he ends up fantasizing about their teacher. And then sleeping with her.

As for the other two Mad Men parents who are up for Emmy Awards, it's a surprising duo. READ MORE...