"A Little Kiss" is the two-part fifth season premiere of the American television drama series Mad Men. Officially the first two episodes of the season and the 53rd and 54th episodes of the series, it was written by series creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner and directed by Jennifer Getzinger. It originally aired as a single episode on AMC in the United States on March 25, 2012, but appears as two separate episodes on IMDb and streaming services.
The premiere concerns on Don Draper's 40th birthday, opening on Memorial Day weekend 1966. The office prepares for Don's surprise party while also dealing with the Heinz Beans account recently brought into the agency. The relationship between Megan and Don turns bitter after she performs a sensuous dance during the party, while Peggy and Pete both suffer through professional conflict with their co-workers.
"A Little Kiss" was the first Mad Men episode to air in 17 months following heated contract negotiations between AMC and Weiner. A consequence of the hiatus saw the show switch from airing in the summer/fall to the spring for the remainder of its run. Christopher Stanley (Henry Francis), Jessica Paré (Megan Draper), and Jay R. Ferguson (Stan Rizzo) were all added as main cast members beginning with the premiere. The theme of the episode relates to the boredom and discontent among the main characters as they settle into their rather uneventful lives. The episode was well received by television critics and, at a runtime of 90 minutes, is the longest episode of Mad Men to date. It was also the highest-rated episode, with 3.54 million viewers, a substantial jump over the fourth-season average owing in large part to the lengthy time between seasons.
Plot On Memorial Day weekend in 1966, on the street below the Young & Rubicam office, African American protesters are picketing in support of equal-opportunity employment. Several employees lean out the office window and drop bags of water on them. The protesters and journalists then enter the office to catch the employees ready with water-filled bags.
At his new apartment, Don Draper (Jon Hamm) cooks breakfast for Sally (Kiernan Shipka), Bobby (Mason Vale Cotton) and Gene. He only gets to see them for a short time before he returns them to Betty and Henry's impressive (but quite old) home. Don is now married to Megan, and turning forty (Dick Whitman's birthday having been more than six months earlier and Don Draper's about to occur). The next day, Megan, who now works under Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) in creative, is planning a big surprise party for his birthday. Peggy, knowing Don's aversion to birthdays, is reserved about the idea, but Megan insists that no one could dislike parties.
Roger Sterling (John Slattery) shows Don and Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) a newspaper article shaming Y&R for the water-bomb stunt. Roger suggests running a mock ad touting Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce as an equal-opportunity employer. Pete arrives at a lunch meeting with representatives from Mohawk Airlines and unexpectedly finds Roger sharing drinks with them. Roger had spied on Pete's appointment calendar. Pete is overcome with anger over Roger's antics, especially since the charismatic Roger makes a much better impression.
During a presentation for Heinz, Peggy pitches an ambitious, cutting-edge "ballet of beans" ad, which does not impress the Heinz executives. Don enters to assure the company men that his firm will think of a new pitch. Peggy protests that he did not fight hard enough for her idea, and complains to Stan that Don has changed.
On the evening of the surprise party (which is inadvertently given away by Roger), Megan presents her birthday gift, singing a French song, "Zou Bisou Bisou", and dancing provocatively. The guests clap and whistle, although Don seems unimpressed. Peggy, while talking to Don and Megan, makes a snide remark about having to return to the office later, since she is the only one really working on the weekend. After the party, Don, tired of the day, collapses on the bed fully clothed. Megan asks if he enjoyed the party; he tells her not to waste money on such things. Indifferent to his mood, she teases and kisses him, wanting to talk about the party. He declines and insists on going to sleep, so she leaves the room upset. It is also revealed that, since the time of the last episode, Don has told Megan about his real identity and past.
The next morning, Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) finds a man's wallet in a cab. Inspecting it, he becomes fascinated with a photo of a young woman named Delores. He later telephones the wallet's owner but reaches Delores, the owner's girlfriend. He flirts with her on the phone, and she promises the wallet will be retrieved. The owner of the wallet comes to Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce in order to pick it up. Lane secretly removes Delores' photo and the owner does not notice.
Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) has given birth to a son named Kevin, who is now a few months old. Her mother, Gail Holloway (Christine Estabrook), has come to stay with her to help with the baby but constantly argues about Joan returning to work, saying that Joan's husband is a doctor. Insisting that the company needs her, Joan does not want to break her promise to go back. Gail shows Joan the company's newspaper ad and claims that it is evidence that they intend to replace her. Joan stops by the office with baby Kevin in tow. In Lane's office, she tearfully asks if they are planning to replace her. He assures her that the ad is a poor joke and that everyone is eagerly awaiting her return.
Megan overhears some particularly lewd comments from Harry about her dance, eventually ranting to Peggy about the office's cynical culture. She tells her that Don did not appreciate the surprise party. Peggy apologizes for her rude comment at the party and Megan goes home early. Peggy goes to Don's office to apologize to him as well. After hearing that Megan went home early, Don also leaves for the day. At the apartment, he asks Megan why she left work. She then disrobes and angrily cleans up the mess left from the party in just her black bra and panties. Don tries to initiate sex, but Megan says no and forcefully pushes him away several times. Don grabs her roughly, saying she "[wants] it so bad right now", and the two have sex on the floor. Afterwards, Megan complains that she is not liked at the office and wonders if she ought to stop working there. Don tells her he does not care about work, he only cares about her.
Pete is given Harry's office, which is larger and has windows to impress his clients. As revenge for Roger crashing his earlier meeting with Mohawk Airlines, Peter later tricks Roger into going on a 6:00 a.m. meeting with Coca-Cola that doesn't exist. At the office the next morning, Don and Megan enter the reception area to find a large group of African-American women and men. They are responding to the newspaper ad, not aware it was a joke. The receptionist interrupts with a piece of traditional African art, sent from Y&R. Realizing that the applicants have seen the artefact, Cooper sends Lane into the reception area. He dismisses the men, by saying they are only seeking secretaries, and collects resumes from the women.
Production "A Little Kiss" was directed by Jennifer Getzinger and written by series creator Matthew Weiner. This was the second episode to be solely written by Weiner and directed by Getzinger, the other being the fourth season episode "The Suitcase". Although the first to be aired of the season, it was actually produced after the following episode "Tea Leaves", due to January Jones' pregnancy. Despite the long break, 85 percent of the crew from the fourth season returned for the fifth. "There's a sense of boredom, there's a sense of anxiety, there's a sense of discontent with the contentedness", Weiner said, in regards to the positions of the characters at the beginning of the new season. Weiner considered the main question of the first episode "What is Don Draper like when he is happy?", with the twist of the first episode being Don's lack of interest in work. The episode was expanded from its regular runtime of 47 minutes into a 90-minute episode aired over two hours, after Weiner realized the story broken for the premiere was "85 percent too big". "We just put everything into it that we had. I think when you see it in its completeness, you'll get it."
Contract negotiations between the end of the fourth and fifth season led Matthew Weiner to quit during the downtime between Season 4 and Season 5. AMC and Weiner were negotiating, with AMC asking Weiner to cut two main cast members every season starting with the fifth, a shorter running time to make room for more commercials, and more product placement within the series. During the negotiations, Weiner said, "First of all, the number that's been published is not true. Second of all, I offered to have less money, to save the cast, and to leave the show in the running time that it's supposed to be. The harder that I've fought for the show, the more money that they've offered me." After conversations with the network stalled, Weiner gave up hope on returning to the series. "I quit ... during the negotiation. I had come to terms with the fact that it was over ... In the most protective and demanding way, I did not feel that it was worth going back to work to make a show that was not the show I'd been making. I had this argument with my wife, where I said: 'You don't understand - it's not just a matter of changing the show. I don't want to go to work and do it different. I just figured out how it works' ... [But] in the end, everything worked out." AMC eventually relented, signing a new deal with Weiner that keeps him on board as show runner for the fifth and sixth season, with a strong possibility for a final seventh season.
Weiner explained that the delay in the airing of the series and the 17-month break between the fourth and fifth season was not his decision. However, he did admit that the plan to keep Mad Men off the air in 2011 was in place before the negotiations. He said, "There was a plan in place in 2010 that the show would not be on the air in 2011. You don't just throw in Breaking Bad because Mad Men is not available. They have four shows. They do them one at a time, and God bless them for the fact that Breaking Bad got an audience, because of where they were this summer. I'm very happy about that, because people should see that show."
"The Look of Love" song change The original screener of "A Little Kiss" sent out to critics included the use of the Dusty Springfield song "The Look of Love". Critics soon pointed out that "The Look of Love" was not released until 1967, six months after the time that "A Little Kiss" takes place. When critics pointed this out to Weiner, he sent out a letter to critics, which was reprinted in many publications and websites. Weiner's letter included him telling reporters that, "Although we take license for artistic purposes with the end-title music, we never want the source music to break from the time period we are trying to recreate. As someone who has a deep appreciation for details, I want to thank you for bringing this to our attention. It's a privilege to work on a show that generates an ongoing dialog with you and our amazing fans so please — keep those notes and comments coming!" The 1966 Dusty Springfield song "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me" was used during the end titles, though this was not a replacement for "The Look of Love". An article by The New York Times indicated that "The Look of Love" was originally played by the band at Don Draper's fortieth birthday party.
Young & Rubicam protest incident