‘Mad Men’ season 7, episode 1 reaction: Neve Campbell on surprising role
The great thing about “Mad Men’s” harsh no-spoilers policy is that when a new episode of the show airs, you actually have an opportunity to be genuinely surprised by what you see on the other side. It’s a little bit different in that regard from what we are traditionally accustomed from other shows, where you have a big casting announcement and then start to find out some more details over time.
The big surprise during Sunday’s season 7 premiere was the appearance as Neve Campbell as a woman who was onboard an airplane back to New York City with Don Draper. He name was Lee Cabot, at least according to the credits, and while Don didn’t go all the way with her down the cheating rabbit hole like he did with Sylvia, he still did enough to constitute fooling around … again.
Since the series is of course coy on whether or not Campbell will return for more (though we lean towards at happening given that her name was revealed), we’re going to spend some more time just talking about her appearance on the show itself. Speaking in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, she had the following to say about the process of getting the part and keeping things under wraps:
“When you’re given a threat by Matt Weiner, [laughs] it’s not that tough to keep a secret. They’re very good at keeping things top secret on the show. When I first got to set and was in the hair-and-makeup trailer, someone said, ‘Oh, Matt Weiner’s coming down to talk to you,’ and the hair-and-makeup people said, ‘Oh, he’s coming to give you the super-secrecy speech.’ I said, ‘What’s that?’ They’re like, ‘You’ll see.’ And he did. He came down and gave me a big speech about the importance of keeping things hush on the show, and keeping things entertaining and fresh for the audience, which I completely respect, and how much they need people to not say a word. And then I had to sign a waiver as well. [Laughs] That’s how it goes.”
We mock Weiner for this level of TV paranoia from time to time, but the reality here is that we really do appreciate it. It ensures that we are able to get a show that is completely different than anything else that is out there, and there is a genuine element of surprise. We just wish that there was a little more depth to what was overall a mixed bag of a premiere.
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Photo: AMC