As you've probably learned from AMC's aggressive, multi-media "End of an Era" campaign (Hey, it is a show about advertising, after all.) the final episodes of Mad Men will begin airing on Sunday, April 5.
The TV spots and banner ads may be a tad dramatic (as advertisements generally are), but the conclusion of the show that made AMC an original programming juggernaut does mark the end of an era in more ways than one.
For one thing, Don Draper is following Tony Soprano, Walter White, and Dexter Morgan out the door, and who will replace him as TV's most effed-up anti-hero?
(As much as we love him, Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill doesn't seem quite up to the task. He's just to...lovable.)
But when Don stubs out his final cigarette, it's not just the Age of the Brooding White Guy that will come to a close.
The final seven episodes of Mad Men will likely explore the end of the 1960s, the end of a corporate world that's dominated entirely by men like Don, and the end of what many consider to be the golden age of media and advertising.
It's a lot to take on, and based on comments he made almost four years ago, creator Matthew Weiner intends to wrap things up not with a bang, but with a massive jump forward in time:
"What I’m looking for, and how I hope to end the show, is like … It’s 2011," Weiner said. "Don Draper would be 84 right now. I want to leave the show in a place where you have an idea of what it meant and how it’s related to you."
Needless to say, it sounds as though Weiner is planning the exact opposite of a Sopranos-style non-ending. (Perhaps he learned his lesson from his time as a staff writer on the HBO mob series.)
If he carries through on his plan, it'll certainly be a shock to see Don Draper - the consummate man of his times - living in the 21st Century.
Can you imagine Don/Dick receiving an-Emoji-laden text message from his grandkids? We can't. But then, maybe that's the point...
If you still need to catch up in time for tonight's finale, watch Mad Men online at TV Fanatic. And if - like the show's central characters - you've blacked out on any of the major events, check out some of Mad Men's most memorable moments in the gallery below:
Don broke down and showed his human side after learning about the death of a friend. We're sure the final season will hold many more emotional moments for Don.
At the time, it was pretty thorough, but this show regularly introduces more new characters than a beginners' class on the Chinese language, so a new season means a new list of medieval hotties:
Talisa was briefly married to Robb Stark. Fun fact: she's played by Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter! Not so fun fact: she died the most horrible death imaginable!
The big addition this year comes in the form Oberyn Martell's daughters, who have unfortunately been saddled with the decidedly un-sexy nickname of "the Sand Snakes."
But don't let the serpentine moniker fool you. In response to the [SPOILER ALERT] ugly death of the Red Viper, the Sand Snakes set out seeking vengeance. And they look damn good doing it.
The list above is presented in no particular order (It's not like the hotness of the Khaleesi can really be contested.), so just click through and enjoy.
In the real Middle Ages, body odor and missing teeth no doubt made things decidedly less sexy than the world created by George R.R. Martin, but hey - that's why they call it fantasy, right?
We're forever in debt to GRRM and the GoT showrunners for giving us an alternate version of history in which seductive, supernatural priestesses regularly bare their boobs. Oh, and the dragons are cool, too.
The show returns for season 5 one week from today, so if you need to get caught up in time, don't forget to watch Game of Thrones online at TV Fanatic.
But there's something different about the latest Instagram scandal to surround this 17-year old reality star: she's actually wearing clothing!!!
Jenner’s body is not up for discussion in any way, as critics are instead looking higher up in response to a new set of photos she shared with followers today.
This celebrity is accustomed to creating a stir with her pictures, but typically chatter is based on whether or not Kylie Jenner underwent plastic surgery... or discussion over why Kylie Jenner is showing off so much cleavage.
It is not typically race-based.
"so just got the time to head on social media lol.. "Jenner added on Twitter.
"The photographer used a black light & neon lights for those photos... in this world I'm happy w the way God created me. Happy Easter everybody."
In October of 2013, Julianne Hough was forced to come out and apologize after she donned blackface as part of an Orange is the New Black Halloween costume.
Madonna covers the latest issue of Cosmopolitan, talking to the magazine about nothing of controversy or substance at all and giving a very tame interview.
Just kidding!!!!
The singer, who recently declared war on Instagram by going topless, instead opens up to the publication about a number of issues.
"Don’t be fooled, not much has changed – certainly not for women. We still live in a very sexist society that wants to limit people.
"Since I started, I’ve had people giving me a hard time because they didn’t think you could be sexual or have sexuality or sensuality in your work and be intelligent at the same time. For me, the fight has never ended."
What about working with Kanye West on her new album? Did she clash with Mr. Kim Kardashian?
"It's a little bit of a bullfight, but we take turns," she says. "He knows that he's walking into a room with a person with a strong point of view, and I do too.
"I listen to what he has to say, take it in, and he listens to what I say and takes it in. We didn't agree on everything, but he has good ideas."
And what about those trolls? Those people who live to bring others down online?
"You can hide behind your computer or your phone and say whatever you want – you’re not known. Could you say it to my face? Would you say it to my face? I doubt it."
Teen Mom 2 star Leah Messer has hit quite a few bumps in the road in the past year, and now it looks like she may be going through another rough patch.
After being publicly accused of cheating on Jeremy Calvert, the father of her third child and her husband of two years, Leah's world seemed slowly unravel.
Last we heard, Leah was shutting down her salon after being investigated for illegal business practices, but remarkably, it looked as though she had managed to save her marriage.
Despite major difficulties, the Calverts appeared to be on solid ground. Now, however, it seems that Leah's personal life is going down the tubes as quickly as her career.
Saturday marked the two-year anniversary of Leah and Jeremy's wedding, but the Calverts didn't celebrate that or the Easter holiday together.
Yesterday, Leah tweeted that she was "blessed to be spending the day with [her] 3 beautiful girls," but she made no mention of her husband.
On Saturday, Leah didn't acknowledge her anniversary at all, but retweeted a quote reading, "No marriage is perfect or easy, but that's what makes it real."
The image contained in the re-tweeted post was a painted sign reading "A perfect marriage is just two imperfect people who refuse to give up on each other."
Meanwhile, Jeremy posted the photo on the right, in which he is very clearly not wearing a wedding ring (he does, however, have a sweet cowboy hat).
Now it looks as though Messer and Calvert have parted ways for good, and given how tumultuous their brief marriage has been, we wouldn't be surprised.
In fact, we're going to go ahead and say that despite how sad it is, this is probably the best thing for both of them, and their daughter, at this stage of the game.
As always, you can head on over and watch Teen Mom online at TV Fanatic to relive Leah's many ups and downs through the years.
Wiz Khalifa has commemorated the life of Paul Walker in the artist's new music video.
Released today, the video for “See You Again,” a track included on the Furious 7 soundtrack, features footage of Walker from the franchise’s most recent film, as well as the six others from the past 14 years.
Charlie Puth, who sings on the track, Tweeted about the video's unveiling this morning, writing of both it and Walker, who tragically died in a car crash in late 2013:
"7 million hits in 2 hours. i know you are watching down on all of us paul, the whole world is thinking of you."
Furious 7 hit theaters on Friday and went on to shatter a number of box office records, becoming the first April release to ever clear $100 million domestically in its opening weekend.
"This was a labor of love. It was in some ways the hardest movie I ever had to do because the relationships that you see on film are so real," Vin Diesel told fans at a recent Furious 7 screening. "When the tragedy happened I lost my best friend, I lost my brother."
Walker did film a few scenes of the movie before his fatal car accident - and those wondering what happened to Walker's character in the latest installment should follow the preceding link.
Paul Walker and his daughter Meadow, when she was a baby. She shared this photo on what would have been his 41st birthday. He tragically died in a car crash in 2013. R.I.P.
The first prison photo of Teresa Giudice recently fetched a pretty penny for the TV star's family, but the Jersey-ites weren't the only ones trying to cash in.
According to an insider, one of Tre’s fellow inmates had been surreptitiously photographing her on a contraband phone in the hopes of selling the pics.
That is, until prison guards busted her shady ass and confiscated that piece!
Authorities at the Federal Corrections Institute in Danbury, Connecticut, “recently confiscated the cellphone of a female inmate,” according to an insider.
“She had smuggled it in," they said, though they would not disclose how.
What investigators found on the illicit device was ... well, a documentation of what life is like in prison for Teresa Giudice, for whatever that's worth.
Those pics could've been worth a lot - Teresa's family got paid a pretty nice sum for the first, authorized pic - but prison guards intervened in the nick of time.
Says the source of the phone, which was found in an undisclosed manner:
"She had candid photos of Teresa all around the prison. Doing yoga, exercising and more. The woman was trying to get the photos out to sell them.”
It's unclear if the inmate in question had her cell tossed, but she clearly should've hidden the phone in a hallowed-out Bible a la The Shawshank Redemption.
It's also unclear if said inmate is now in the hole, also a la Shawshank.
In the meantime, while talk of a Joe Giudice reality show surfaces (as well as cheating allegations surrounding her crooked hubby), Teresa carries on.
Her expected release in February 2016 is now less than 10 months away, and she may even get out sooner than that if she stays out of trouble.
There's no room for these kind of theatrics, in other words ...
Teresa Giudice is not gonna take any crap. Her table-flipping reputation will precede her in prison, thanks to The Real Housewives of New Jersey Season 1.
Kim Zolciak has a message for all the body shamers out there.
Not long after sharing a photo of her self-proclaimed chunky legs, the reality star returned to Instagram and snapped a bikini-based selfie, writing as a caption to the revealing image:
"I love food! #DessertEspecially."
Zolciak also included emojis of wine, pizza, cake, cookies and chocolate in her post.
The former Real Housewives of Atlanta cast member, who will team with ex-rival NeNe Leakes on a new Bravo series, simply loves to take self-portraits of her body.
But she hates the feedback she sometimes receives as a result of them.
"I love every inch of me and it's evident some of you don't," Kim wrote on Instagram last Friday, adding:
"It's truly disheartening to see some of your comments because my kids see this stuff and I'm appalled. I guess it's time I stop posting personal pics of myself as well as my kids since some of you last night and today commented rudely about them."
In a preview for tonight's episode of Teen Mom: OG, Catelynn and Tyler sit down with Tyler's mother to discuss some of the unique challenges that come with trying to be a part of their oldest daughter's life.
It seems Tyler recently made a YouTube video that featured photos of Carly and her parents absolutely lost it.
In a way, it makes sense, as Catelynn and Tyler are public figures, and Carly's parents probably don't want her being sucked into the whirpool of trashy drama that is the Teen Mom universe.
But at the same time, Catelynn and Tyler are by far the most level-headed of the Teen Mom parents and the couple who is now raising Carly made arrangements with them to be included in her life before Catelynn even gave birth.
Catelynn gave birth to daughter Nova back in January and its admirable that she and Tyler have remained firm in their commitment to Carly even through the stress of raising an infant.
Catelynn is remarkably mature about it the blowback from the YouTube video and seems to understand where the couple is coming from. Of course, that doesn't mean she likes it.
Lowell and Baltierra may have their lives more together more than any of their co-stars, but this wouldn't be Teen Mom if there wasn't some sort of drama at every turn.
Watch Teen Mom online at TV Fanatic if you need to get caught up in time for tonight's episode.
But as tight as Taylor is with her celebrity besties, it was a civilian named Abigail Anderson that first had Swifty trading secrets and telling fortunes with those little folded-up paper thingies.
Taylor and Abigail met when they were both 15 and they've been joined at the hip ever since. So when Abigail turned 25 over the weekend, Taylor surprised her with a surprise performance from her favorite singer/songwriter/emo heartthrob:
That's Chris Carrabba from the band Dashboard Confessional, and if you're a girl of a certain age who's into sensitive guys, you probably spent a good chunk of your high school days trying to decide if you were gonna marry him or the dude from Bright Eyes.
And that, is one of the many reasons why it's awesome to be Taylor Swift's number one chick.
This girl makes dreams come true. She's like the Make-A-Wish Foundation for people who are only dying because of the totes cray gossip that she just told them.
So yeah, you should try to become friends with Taylor Swift, because she might bring your celebrity crush from high school to your next birthday party.
After she started following the Dunham on Twitter, the Girls star sent her a private message. She told V magazine, "I was like, 'I just want to let you know that your albums have gotten me through a lot of very hard times.'"
Taylor Swift and Kellie Pickler met in 2009 when the pair were on tour with Brad Paisley and have also collaborated on music together. Kellie has said Taylor is her "little sister."
J. Lawand T. Swizzle exchange heartfelt messages when they're proud of each other, as Lawrence told Ryan Seacrest: "Oh, my god I freaked out over the CMAs. I sent her a text message that was like 6 inches long."
Swift sometimes dined with Gwyneth and Chris Martin in London, while the former couple introduced Taylor to her ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal at the end of 2010.
Ellie Goulding to Glamour UK in August 2014, on Swift and other big named pals: "They see what is and isn't real. I’m not anywhere near their level of fame but if I say, 'Oh God, Taylor, this happened,’ she’ll be like, 'Girl, that’s nothing.' Suck it up, kind of thing."
Taylor Swift serves sort of like a mentor to. The actress has gone to many of the singer's shows and celebrated Memorial Day with Taylor and good friend Jessica Szohr in Rhode Island.
Taylor and Julianne Hough both hail from Nashville. The two hosted the CMA Music Festival Special together back in 2008 and always make a point to meet up backstage at awards shows.
Things start off innocently enough with Kendall sipping a smoothie. Sure, she gets a little suggestive with the straw, but again, these are the Jenners we're talking about. We've come to expect that sort of thing.
Then things get a little weird as Kendall starts grinding on Kylie. Unlike R. Kelly, we do see something wrong with a little bump and grind. At least when the girls involved are freakin' sisters!
But it's not until the 0:27 mark that things get "Holy crap, is this even legal?" weird.
Close-ups of Kendall's butt are nothing unusual, but in this particular shot, little sis Kylie's freakishly long fingers come creeping right down into Kendall's no-no zone.
We really don't know what to say about this one, but it's times like this that we like to remind you that Kylie is only 17 years old.
We'll totally feel bad if you get arrested for watching this, but don't go calling us for bail money.
Kendall and Kylie Jenner are quickly morphing into Kim Kardashian, and as recent photos of them show, that means a wild side and growing up very, very fast. Some would say much too fast based on pics like this ...
In light of the news that Robert Pattinson is engaged to FKA Twigs, many have assumed that Stewart is broken up over the official loss of her one-time love.
But this simply isn't the case, an insider tells People Magazine.
"Kristen is doing fine, working and traveling, and she will survive Robert’s engagement," the source tells the publication. "She has her own life and has moved on."
The former Twilight colleagues ended their relationship in May 2013, nearly 10 months after Stewart admitted to having a kissing affair with her then-married director Rupert Sanders.
The two were caught on camera and everything.
"Kristen lives a much more low-key life now and seems happier," the source added. "It was obvious that she was struggling with the media attention [during her relationship with Rob]."
At a screening of her latest film, Clouds of Sils Maria, at the Bing Theatre at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on Friday, meanwhile, Stewart herself sounded a very positive note.
“I’m having more fun now than I ever have,” said Stewart, who was awarded the Best Supporting Actress Cesar Award in Paris this past February.
We're so very glad to hear it!
It looks like both sides involved in this initially messy split have come out better for it.
Nina Dobrev is about to take her final bite out of The Vampire Diaries.
In a stunning announcement, the actress posted a long message on Instagram that confirmed she will say goodbye to The CW smash at the end of The Vampire Diaries Season 6.
Dobrev will exit the series as has been widely reported today, and she explained the decision in a post that included the following photo of her and series creator Julie Plec.
"I've just spent the most beautiful weekend on Lake Lanier in Georgia with my own TVD Family, the cast and crew of The Vampire Diaries."
"I want to be the first to tell you that it wasn't just a holiday celebration, it was a goodbye party," she wrote.
"I always knew I wanted Elena's story to be a six season adventure, and within those six years I got the journey of a lifetime.
"I was a human, a vampire, a doppelganger, a crazy immortal, a doppelganger pretending to be human, a human pretending to be a doppelganger."
"I got kidnapped, killed, resurrected, tortured, cursed, body-snatched, was dead and undead, and there's still so much more to come before the season finale in May."
"Elena fell in love not once, but twice, with two epic soulmates, and I myself made some of the best friends I'll ever know and built an extended family I will love forever."
Dobrev, of course, dated co-star Ian Somerhalder for many years.
Somerhalder is now engaged to Nikki Reed, with the couple rocking some major PDA on social media on a nearly weekly basis.
Many will certainly jump to the conclusion that Dobrev is leaving The Vampire Diaries due to this awkward situation.
Paul Wesley and Nina Dobrev represent The Vampire Diaries very well on this cover of Entertainment Weekly. It's safe to say we'll be picking up the issue.
"I invite you to hop on the roller coaster ride that is Elena Gilbert's life and join me as I celebrate her and prepare to say goodbye to her - and to my work family - as I move on to the next chapter of my life," Dobrev concluded, adding:
"I want to share this goodbye with all of you (this weekend's pictures were just the beginning)."
"You, the wonderful fandom who gave more love, support and passion than anyone could have ever imagined seven years ago, when a young Degrassi girl from Canada showed up in LA to audition for 'that Twilight TV show.' ;-)
"I love you all. Fasten your seatbelts. If you think you know what's coming, you don't."
Dobrev's exit comes in during a time when the drama has lost several key players - including her on-screen brother, Steven R. McQueen (Jeremy).
Marguerite MacIntyre's Sheriff Forbes also departed, along with Michael Trevino (Tyler), who has booked a role on ABC's The Kingmakers pilot.
Candice Accola has a big smile on her face in this promotional image for The Vampire Diaries. She's echoing how we feel each time we see her on screen.
It seems Tammy was out of the country when the news broke and she was shocked - SHOCKED! - to learn about the scandal when she recently returned home.
We find it hard to believe that Tammy didn't catch wind of the fact that the celebrity gossip world was buzzing about her, but we can see why she would want to play dumb.
If Wayne actually releases his memoir, there could be a big payday in it for Ms. Torres.
She could either sue him for defamation of character, or sell her version of the story. Both options, of course, require her to keep her mouth shut for the time being.
Tammy teased that she will reveal which one of the rappers was better in bed, but only if Wayne goes ahead with his plan of publishing a tell-all.
We're guessing Drake was the superior lay.
C'mon - the man croons sensitive R&B tunes, while Weezy raps lyrics like, "Tongue kiss her other tongue/Skeet, skeet, skeet water gun."
Kerry Washington, Sarah Jessica Parker and Michelle Obama are feeling very Glamour-ous this month.
Literally!
The Scandal star, former Sex and the City actress and residing First Lady represent “Power Women,” according to the publication, as they opened up to Glamour about various aspects of life in the military.
Washington, for example, spoke out on how diminishing the stigma of mental health, telling the magazine:
"My brain and my heart are really important to me. I don’t know why I wouldn’t seek help to have those things be as healthy as my teeth. I go to the dentist. So why wouldn’t I go to a shrink?"
Parker then discussed the issues female veterans face:
"I feel like there’s a laundry list... Being a working mother, serving, returning from Iraq or Afghanistan - I almost don’t know where to begin…. And I feel intimidated by their service; I feel ashamed that I haven’t served."
"I [try to] put myself in the place of some of these young women - maybe they’re in their twenties, they have their third kid, they’re not established in their careers, they’re miles away from their family - and imagine the stresses.
"So my advice is, ask for help. Keep asking. Because that’s the only way I survived. My women friends - how we get through is we reach out."
We're sure she enjoys yachts, beards and threesomes (Or, as we call them, Leo Trios.), but how long will she last?
You might think 24 sounds awfully young, considering Leo is freakin' 40, but in DiCaprio years, she's basically Bettty White.
DiCaprio dumped Toni Garnn when she was just 21, and he's got a long tradition of getting bored with his toys before they hit their mid-20s and donating them to the less-advantaged Tom Bradys and Ryan Reynolds of the world.
There were rumors that Leo broke up with Rihanna by hooking up with a model (possibly Kelly) right in front of her, but we highly doubt that's true.
With the way he gets around, if Leo were that big of a jerk, someone would've pummeled his with a blunt object years ago.
In fact, in her latest interview, Rihanna denied dating DiCaprio, and it's possible that she's telling the truth. Or maybe, just like Leo, she denies everything about her sex life.
Because the model simply won't back down from her haters.
A few weeks ago, Stage shared a picture of her 8-month old baby bump, causing a collective double take around the Internet by people who were simply stunned at her skinny stomach.
Now, despite the heavy criticism she received at the time, Stage has returned with another shocking picture.
“10 days until we meet,” the brunette wrote as a caption to the above image, implying she is expecting to give birth in 10 days.
Yes, 10 days.
We're pretty sure we can still see Stage's abdominal muscles.
Unsurprisingly, Stage's Instagram comments section was quickly bombared with negative comments, as some women referred to the photo "sad," and claimed "her baby can't be healthy."
As of early March, Stage had gained 20 pounds during her pregnancy.
Speaking with Good Morning America at the time, she didn't seem very worried about the humdrum surrounding her baby bump pictures.
"As long as the baby is healthy, I don't think anything else matters...That should be the most important thing."
But it hasn't been to some Internet trolls, of course.
"I don't know how someone could say something like that to a pregnant woman," she said. "I think that is so rude. My baby is healthy and we are happy."
For the second time in a few weeks, Snooki shared an Instagram photo with followers that features her rocking some plump lips, making no secret about her goal via a caption that reads:
"Tried the liner on the lips! Do I have Kylie Jenner lips yet?!"
Yes? We guess? The better question is this: Why would anyone want Kylie Jenner lips?
The young reality star has insisted she's never undergone plastic surgery and that she simply relies on her favorite brand of lip liner to get her unique look.
Which is fine. Cool. Whatever. We don't care.
All we know is that Snooki looks very odd in this picture and we're not sure why anyone would strive for Kylie's lips these days.
If you think all of this sounds like it would make for compelling reality television, then you and Scott are on the same page!
Radar Online is reporting that Scott is hoping to score his own E! network reality show that would chronicle his life of traveling the globe and partying for a living at paid club appearances.
"He's wanted this from day one, but he's been biding his time for the right moment, which he says is now," says one insider. "Scott says he's finally ready to make a big push to move away from Kourtney's shadow and pursue his dream.
"Scott wants everyone to know he want this deal. He is open and hungry and willing to do anything."
Say what you will about Scott, the show sounds like it might actually be entertaining:
Just the chill adventures of a young guy with raging substance abuse issues and three young kids at home, traveling the world, popping bottles and hanging with models.
We're guessing the working title is something along the lines of Scott Disick Destroys His Family/Liver.
Scott ragging on Kim might be the best part of the Kardashian reality shows. Every time she acts like it's the first time she's ever been put in her place.
The cutest things really do come to those who wait.
Earlier today, Jill Duggar gave birth to her first child, a son named Israel David who Jill and husband Derrick Dillard had to wait extra long to meet.
He arrived a week and a half after his due date.
But safe to say the little tyke was worth it, wouldn't you say?!?
According to People Magazine sources, Jill Duggar and child are both doing well, as evidenced by these new photos from the delivery room.
"We are so thankful for a healthy Mom and baby!" a statement from Jill's famous family read soon after the miracle took place. "Love this sweet baby Israel! We are happy grandparents and we promise more pictures soon!"
The stars, who can see each week when you watch The 19 Kids and Counting online, got married in June 2014; they announced just two months later that they were expecting.
At the time they exchanged vows, Jill and Derrick had only gotten to first base.
They had planned planned a home birth, but baby Israel had other ideas last night: he was delivered in a hospital via natural childbirth.
Right up until Duggar hit the delivery room, she was going on dates with her husband and sharing photos from her exciting experience.
Heck, as recently as April 4, Derick posted an image of his wife's baby bump at 41 weeks and 4 days. Talk about having patience!
"Congrats to my sister @jillmdillard, and brother-in-law, @derickdillard, on the birth of their beautiful baby boy, Israel David Dillard!" Jessa wrote via Instagram. "Born last night at 11:49pm! 9lbs 10oz & 23in. long!"
We send our very best wishes to the newly-expanded family.
