"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" | |
---|---|
Mad Men episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
Directed by | Alan Taylor |
Written by | Matthew Weiner |
Cinematography by | Phil Abraham |
Original air date | July 19, 2007 |
Running time | 49 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" is the series premiere of the American period drama television series Mad Men. It first aired on July 19, 2007 in the United States on AMC and was written by creator Matthew Weiner and directed by Alan Taylor. "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" was budgeted at US$3 million. Production for the episode took place in New York City and Los Angeles.
Weiner conceived of the script in 2000 while working as a writer for the television sitcom Becker. Before writing the pilot episode, he studied American literature and cinema of the 1950s and 1960s to get a perspective on American culture during that period. Weiner sent the script to The Sopranos creator David Chase, who recruited Weiner to work with him on The Sopranos. Weiner shelved the project for seven years to focus on Chase's program; interest for Mad Men did not surface until the conclusion of The Sopranos' final season.
According to the Nielsen Media Research, the episode attained a rating of 1.4 (1.2 million households) upon initial airing.