I Surrender Meme: Millennium

Matthew Weiner called, and told me he wanted me to write a sequel miniseries to Mad Men, taking place from 1997 to 2002.

Okay, that's obviously lie. But let's just pretend he did.


Synopsis: In 1997, much has changed. Don Draper has been deceased for ten years;  his children remain, still picking up the pieces... and trying to find the missing ones.


Cast: 

Sally's Zone

Sally Gateford, nee Draper (Eliza Coupe)

 

Sally has spent her adult life trying not to be like her parents; the trouble was, she
isn't sure how to be normal. In the past, she had trouble believing the hospitable
nature of her husband's parents and sister. In her eyes, it's not normal for families to be so seamlessly happy.
This has improved over time, but still carries over a little.

Sally also suffers from occasional anxiety attacks; moreover, while Sally's not alcoholic like Don was, she
does often binge drink under stress. 

Sally currently works in the marketing department of a tech firm in New York City,
although she and her husband live in the fictional  WASPy town of Mills Parkway. One of her challenges
is establishing herself as a woman who happens to have a high level job and  be a mother - 
rather than being defined specifically by either of those things. 


Garrett Gateford (Seth Green)



Garret works for his fathers' business firm, and seeks to diversify it. 

Garret is a loving husband, although he and Sally still have their problems.
They go through a rough patch, but ultimately fix things.


Catherine Elizabeth "Katie-Beth" Gateord (Willow Shields)


Katie-Beth is the eldest sister (seventeen when the  
series starts); she's a little fashion obsessed, but also incredibly
bright.  She's also a film buff.


Amanda  Gateford (Sadie Sink)


Amanda, who's sixteen at the start of the series, is much more
of a rebel than her older sister, rejecting her parents' "yuppy"
lifestyle and dropping out of the private school she initially
attends.  Garret worries about her rebellion, but Sally opts
to let her get it out of her system; this is a point of contention
for them.

Also, don't call her Mandy.  

Paula Sharp, nee Gateford



Paula is Garret's sister, with whom he is incredibly close. She would like to
be closer with Sally, and deep down, Sally would also like that closeness;
however, Paula's sweet nature clashes with Sally's more reserved nature.
She also begins to suspect Sally doesn't like her husband - which is 
true, albeit rightfully so.


David "Dave" Sharp (Channing Tatum)



Dave isn't shown much, but he's ultimately very much 
like Don Draper - detached from his family, a chronic cheater,
and at times a little controlling. Sally calls him "a walking memory
of my sixth birthday party."

William "Bill" Gateford (Ron Reiner)



Garret's father and, technically, his boss. Bill and Garret
generally get along, but Garret begins to realize that he
was pressured into working for his father's company. Garret
also feels that Bill is a bit of a snob.

Garret's father and Bill's wife, Catherine. also plays a role,
but not a significant one.

Joan Holloway (Isabelle Huppert)

Joan changed her and her son's last name to Holloway in
1973; her company was also changed to Holloway Films,
and is now well known for producing marketing and educational
films, although there are some television shows as well, including
a tongue-in-cheek parody of Afterschool Specials and daytime 
soaps called All My Problems.

Joan is well known in women's circles, and one of Sally's few 
confidantes as their jobs overlap, meaning they work together
often. Sally likes Joan's harshness.

Salvator "Sal" Romano (Tony Bennett)




Sal doesn't interact with Sally at all, except perhaps in passing, but he is in
Joan's life due to being an accomplished commercial director.* Sal has recently
come out as gay after speculation, for which he's facing some amount of backlash.


*This was one of the directions Matthew Weiner saw him going in.


Glenn Bishop (Tom Welling)


Sally's childhood friend, who has also become a close friend of Garret's. He
walks with a limp due to serving in Vietnam, and suffers from a lot of guilt
over serving for the worst possible reasons. He is considered family.

Sawyer Norman (Zach Efron)




Starts out as a new employee who instantly wants to
one-up Sally at her job.

Bobby's Zone

Robert "Bobby/Rob" Draper (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)


Bobby - going by "Rob" more and more now that he's nearing forty - could
not be more different from Sally. He owns a small comic bookstore in New York
state, and lives a fairly modest life. Despite that, he's still very close with his sister.

Bobby always feels he never knew much about his father, and he certainly
doesn't know who his father really was. So it's become in part his mission to find 
out the whole story behind Dick Whitman - who he knew as Don Draper.

Unbeknownst to everyone but Sally, Bobby is a recovering alcoholic. In fact,
learning about his father is part of his recovery process.


Lydia Rollins (Sasheer Zamata)


Lydia is first introduced as a English teacher who secretly
loves comic books, even though "they go against my
career as a teacher of the Great American novel." 

Lydia is ultimately a love interest, although she doesn't
like that Bobby clearly has secrets. 


Russell "Russ" Smart (Dylan Sprayberry)

Initially a twenty-something employee who slacks off, Russ slowly becomes
an important part of the store - and Bobby's life overall.


Gene's Corner

Gene Draper (Chad Michael Murray)


Gene is the closest to his father; he's recently married, but not faithful.
He also has similar issues with identity, feeling he had two fathers who
saw two different futures for him... and ended up taking the road less traveled,
working as a corporate attorney. Is this really what he's meant to do?