What is Mad Men's IQ Score?

Mad Men has an IQ Score of 174/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient framework, placing it in the Masterclass tier. The score breaks down to 45/50 Cognitive Stimulation, 40/50 Educational Value, and 46/50 Craft & Quality.

Is Mad Men educational?

Mad Men is strong on Educational Value, 40/50 on TVI's rubric, which rates the density and integration of substantive information within the work.

How does TV Intelligentsia calculate IQ Score?

TV Intelligentsia's current published formula is round((Cognitive Stimulation × 0.4 + Educational Value × 0.35 + Craft & Quality × 0.25) × 4), scoring titles from 0 to 200 across five tiers. TVI publishes a three-dimension breakdown only when those values reproduce the displayed composite. The framework is published at tvintelligentsia.com/methodology/.

Mad Men IQ Score 174/200

Name: Mad Men
Genre: drama
Cast: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks

Mad Men has an IQ Score of 174/200 on TV Intelligentsia's Intelligence Quotient rubric, placing it in the Masterclass tier.

By Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH·Updated 2026-10-05·Methodology

drama

174/ 200

Masterclass TVI Essential

Exceptional cognitive and educational substance, delivered with craft that sustains close attention

Mad Men poster, IQ Score 174/200, Masterclass tier on TV Intelligentsia

Score Breakdown

Legacy score. Published under our earlier workflow, before the current standard took effect in August 2026. A founder reviewed and approved it against our methodology, under a process that does not meet the standard we hold now. What this means →

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Cognitive Stimulation/50

Educational Value/50

Craft & Quality/50

Cinematic Score/50

IQ = round((Cognitive × 0.4 + Educational × 0.35 + Craft × 0.25) × 4) · How we score →

What these dimensions mean

Cognitive Stimulation: observable narrative complexity, conceptual density, ambiguity, inference, and sustained intellectual demands in the work.
Educational Value: the density and integration of substantive academic, historical, scientific, cultural, ethical, or practical information in the work.
Craft & Quality: production excellence in service of the work, its direction, writing, performance, and aesthetic intent.
Cinematic Score: composition quality, emotional impact, and how the music integrates with the work. Does not affect the IQ Score.

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The Verdict

Best forViewers who want a decade of American self-invention tracked through one ad agency

Skip ifSlow-burn character drama frustrates you; whole episodes turn on a look or a pitch

Use it asA seminar on advertising, identity, and the 1960s consensus coming apart

Why you should trust this score

Scored under Jordan Robinson, MD, MPH

Physician and founding editor. Maintains the adult catalog against the published rubric and reviews the rubric application.

Methodology

Published rubric, v1.3.1

Formula

round((C × 0.40 + E × 0.35 + Q × 0.25) × 4)

Database scale

2,608 titles, version-controlled

How we stay independent. Editorial scores are not for sale. TVI may take on paid advisory or research work, but no commercial relationship buys coverage, advance access to scores, favorable treatment, or a change to a published finding. We pay for our own streaming subscriptions, and no reviewer sees sponsor data or affiliate revenue tied to a score. More about how we work →

TVI Essential · Consensus

Mad Men scores 174/200 on the TVI IQ Score, placing it in the Masterclass tier. Matthew Weiner's series charts how Don Draper's constructed identity mirrors America's advertising culture across the 1960s, earning Cultural Impact, Rewatch Value, and Lasting Significance. TVI Essential is an editorial designation; IQ Score is a content rating, not an intelligence measurement.

The TVI Take

Set in Manhattan's Sterling Cooper advertising agency, the show charts how Don Draper's constructed identity mirrors America's advertising culture. Cognitive engagement from understanding how the 1960s social upheaval disrupts the old consensus.

Educational about advertising strategy and gender/sexuality of the period.

People & Production Matthew Weiner · AMC · United States 19 connections

Direction & creation

Creator

Matthew Weiner

On screen & sound

Selected cast

Jon Hamm Elisabeth Moss Vincent Kartheiser January Jones Christina Hendricks John SlatterySelected in source order; not represented as billing order.

Composer

David Carbonara

Production & release

Original broadcaster

AMC

Distributor

Lionsgate Television Netflix

Country of origin

United States

Original language

English

Credits and relationships: Wikidata, CC0. TVI preserves production, broadcasting, and distribution as separate roles.

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162

Also created by Matthew WeinerMad Men S2-4Masterclass

159

Also created by Matthew WeinerMad Men S5-7Stimulating

179

Also originally on AMCHalt and Catch FireMasterclass

179

Also features Elisabeth MossThe Handmaid's TaleMasterclass

The Trailer

Official trailer, embedded from YouTube.

Characters Scored Here

People search for these characters by name. TVI doesn't invent fictional-character IQ numbers, but Mad Men's score is the honest answer to how seriously the work treats each mind.

Don DraperIQ →

Where to Watch

Stream