tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. first of tonight, a conversation with the creator of "mad men," matthew weiner. it is vying for 16 emmy awards. last year, the series became the first basic cable program to ever win the emmy for best drama. is now in its third season. also, actors jenna elfman stops

by. she is starring in the new series, "accidentally on purpose." matthew weiner and actress jenna elfman, coming up right now. >> there are so many things that wal-mart is looking forward to doing, like helping people live better. but mostly, we're helping build stronger communities and relationships. with your help, the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports "tavis smiley." tavis and nationwide, working together to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television]

tavis: matthew weiner is a for time emmy award winning writer and producer who gained wide acclaim for his work on "the sopranos." his new show is "mad men." here is a scene. >> look, this is important, and i would really like to have an honest conversation with you. >> i did not want to get into trouble. >> is just us. >> mr. campbell. >> be think i am a bigot? i'd just want to know where you brought -- where you bought your tv. >> i don't know. i don't remember. >> it is your tv.

it is a big purchase. >> i do not even watch it. >> really? why not? >> why should i? we have bigger problems to worry about than the tv. tavis: provocative. i have been amazed watching this series, this third season, the way that you have weaved in the critical issues and events of the day in the storyline of the show. >> it is hard because i did not want the should be a history lesson, necessarily, and one of the most interesting things as a writer, apart from the actual events of that time -- and a lot changed. my original inspiration was to star with the people of 1960 and see what it was like to get their, especially adults at that time. if you lived through the great depression and solve the social upheaval of the 1960's, you are kind of like, so what, here

comes again. and it does go like that. but one of the most interesting things as a writer is seeing how people experience history, what is going on in their everyday life. some people read the paper, some do not. some gigantic event may have happened to the economy, the recession may be officially over right now and we do not over -- and we did not know it. but a year from now we say, remember the thing that happened on september 18? that was it. you want to be true to the world. i try and have some things come from different times, but i do not want to be like, here is a big event, here is a big event. tavis: the recession may be over if you are on wall street, but not the main street or sidestreet. but i digress. >> that is what the season is about, short-term thinking. a lot of the season is about,

the company was acquired, bought by a british company. one of the characters was willing to be divorced and needed money really fast, so they sold the company. i have been fascinated by living through a gold rush, for some people, the increasing inequality. that is one thing. but business always seemed when i was growing up to be based on an attitude of arrogance, taking care of people to some degree. we are businessmen, we know how to do it. now it is all about crying and whining how hd it is, and any excuse to downsize and cut the balance sheets of the economy is contracting. you look at them, they made so much money in the last 15 years, with government help, and it is kind of like, there will be fat years and lean years.

tavis: those who are fans of the show, if you have read anything about this, you know this, which is this show was turned down twice, a couple of times by some major outlets. >> pretty much everywhere. tavis: i was trying to be nice. >> you know what, if you do not have the stomach for this, you cannot do this. tavis: that is why i am sitting here and you are sitting there. i raise that up because one thing i was going to ask you, i celebrate that you got it on after all of those no's, but was -- but what was it that made you think it would work? does math the believe that he could sell this? it is a good product? and if you keep pushing it somebody gets it? what did you know? >> it is weird looking back. you look back, and it is like, if i had known it was going to take five years when i was

pushing, i kept thinking was going to happen tomorrow. you go through cycles. anyone -- i believed in it because i thought it was really entertaining. i was very proud that i was hard on myself. i gave it to my agent and i said, this is the best thing i have ever done. i thought it was related to the time, a lot going on for, just entertainment. that is what i am, an entertainer. but it would be a lie to say that i did not give up on it. i had an amazing support system. my look life was like, this is really good. -- my wife was like, this is really good. my representatives had faith. i showed it to four, five people. i give them the script and they were encouraging. when i would talk to them, i was

on "the sopranos." they were always like, what are you doing with that? i will not lie, i carried it around. if we sat next to each other on an airplane and enough time passed -- tavis:"take a look at this." what the make of the point that it was your writing sample submted to "the sopranos" that ended up being projected by the same network that aired that show, and here you are with 16 nominations? -- what you make of that fact? >> it is a vindication. i was writing a half-hour comedy when i wrote that. i had no idea it would give me a chance on "the sopranos." i wrote the show for hbo. when i got hired in the said

come out and write the show, it turned out to be very similar to what i was doing. he gave it to them, and they just have a different agenda. i do not want that job. but i was surprised. it was a strange situation. they were a big supporter of it, even to the point where they said, even if i fire you, i will help you make the show, which is a mixed message. but it was at a certain point where i cannot even ask him what was going on any more. this was a man who had made hbo a billion dollars. nobody knows. that has so much going against it. it is a period piece, about smoking, it required smoking, not politically correct. there is nothing -- and i knew

that it was a throwback to the 1950's and 1960's. there were a ton of shows that were board room stories like this. i work with amazing people. tavis: a few days ago, we had a guest on this program with a new documentary about advertising. i referenced your show in my conversation with him, knowing that we were going to talk today. >> i have not seen that yet. tavis: what is your sense of why your story set in an ad agency back in the day works? why that vehicle? >> advertising, it is a consumable product and everybody knows about it and everybody wonders how it works. they have preconceptions.

i do not think some people realize it is created by human beings. the image of who we are, people think that is created, but it is really a reflection. they are not trying to turn us into something, they're saying, what do you want, what are you afraid of, you are worried about bad breath, that your car is ugly, i will make you feel better. to me, having interest in issues of identity, which is what the show was about, and socializing and secrets, just the internal life and external life that is going on compared with what you have to go through in the world, all of that seemed to be a great backdrop to have this world based on this. who knows, advertising has changed so much. the market is in a crisis right now. tavis: speaking of how much

advertising has changed, i was just reading yesterday somewhere that a new york city they are thinking about doing a smoking ban everywhere, inside, outside. just a flat smoking ban . the city. i thought about that because obviously there is so much smoking in the series. speaking of how things have changed, what do you make of the fact that here is a series that 30, 40 years ago that is all about smoking in part, and now here we are trying to do away with smoking. much everywhere? -- we're trying to do away with smoking. much everywhere? >> it is a tough call, but socially is a good idea. there was a big story, an historical fact. they had a big program, the third reich was not going to have any smokin

roosevelt was a chain smoker, who think died of emphysema, and ammonia. connacht -- who'd i think died from emphysema or pneumonia. people watch the show and they ask, why is there so much smoking? it was like that in the 1980's and 1990's. is it going to be one day you are not allowed to drink so that inside? i do not know how you enforce a ban like that, but i think eliminating tobacco from our collective lives would be bad. i am surprised at of the vigilance -- at the vigilance of it. tavis: every time we talk, i always learn something from you. i am stuck now on his vision of hitler doing everything he could to exterminate an entire group of people, and he was opposed to smoking. go figure. >> i had a thing in a show about

it. he said, you smoke too much. and he tells the story which is true, hitler brought the munich pact were basically the british gave everything away. he took neville chamberlain into a palace where there was no smoking. he was a heavy smoker. they said that chamberlain caved on everything because he just wanted to go outside and have a cigarette. tavis: the stuff that you learned. only on pbs. his name is matthew weiner. "mad men"in its third season on amc. good luck with the emmys. nice to have you here. up next, actress jenna elfman. stay with us. tavis: i am pleased to welcome

jenna elfman, the emmy nominated actress who received a golden globe for her work on the popular series "are not open -- "dharma & greg." here's a sneak preview of her new show, "accidentally on purpose." >> you are a fantastic cook. >> i am a second assistant to semi important sous chef. basically, i boil things. one day i'll have my own restaurant. and that was the best thing i have ever eaten. what is for dessert? ah! i know as set you up, and you are right to jump on it. but i am just not a one-night stand kind of person. >> lots of people say they will never do things and then they do things.

tavis: so, if what i have read is correct, it goes down. >> it does. tavis: and then something comes up. >> something comes up, and then -- tavis: i will let you tell the story. where does that seem go? >> i should possibly backtrack to set that up to make it more clear. first of all, this is based off a book, a true story, "accidentally on purpose." my character is a film critic in her later 30's, who has been dating her boss, he does not want to get married, i am not thrilled. i go to a bar with some girlfriends. tavis: a guy with some commitment issues? >> apparently, they are out there. so i have heard. so i meet a man and his 20's,

and she has a one-night stand, which she does not normally do, and she ends up pregnant. she is established. he is barely employed, lives in a van. so i stay, stay with me until another couch opens up. he stays and we keep it platonic because we do not want to get to complicate it, but we have feelings for each other. otherwise, i would not have gotten pregnant. it's crazy. his best friends come around and is like a frat house. now my bosses suddenly interested in me because it cannot have made. tavis: i cannot imagine that about man, wanting you because they cannot have you. >> that is also something i have heard. tavis: what about this made you think this was the entry way back in? >> i have been trying to find a great comedy to come back with for the last four years.

i know they do not grow on trees. when i read the script, i laughed out loud many times, which caught my attention. i was also very intrigued by the voice of the character, the tone of the comedy. it felt fresh and unique. it felt like humor i have not seen in a sitcom ever. the subject matter is something i had never seen any sitcom. those are all qualities that are rare to find in a sitcom. there has been talk lately about the death of the sitcom, and this felt like, this is nowhere near the death of a sitcom. it felt like nice green growth coming out of the soil. tavis: then, as the world knows and you announced earlier this week, the timing of this role and your life, the timing is propitious because? >> i am pregnant with my second baby. we found out that the show got picked up for the full season.

my character, i was going to have a season of work as a character who would be pregnant, and i thought this is a good time to have a kid because i do not have to hide it. we were not even going to try to get pregnant until august. i did not want to wait. a kind of happened, but we were planning on having it happen, and mother nature decided to help us with that. tavis: you like motherhood? >> i love it. tavis: how do you balance that? you have long hours. >> i guess of all the television war, the sitcom is the best in terms of schedules if you have a family -- in terms of all television work. with all the press and everything, the schedule gets busy. we're just talking about, how am i going to see him today? every day, spend a lot of time with him, but on these days where it's busy, it is daunting. you just get clever and you

manage time and you make it a priority. tavis: were you working when you are pregnant the first time? >> no, so i got to sleep in. tavis: behalf concerns about being pregnant this time and work? >> not so much concerns. i just go, let's make this work. tavis: of all the various forms and genres that he could have put your thespian skills toward, why comedy? this comedy works for you. why? >> i love it. i don't know what it is. i love laughter. i think -- is hard to describe. it is so deep inside of me, my love of it. i was raised watching certain comedies on television, and i love the fact that it created on me. i think i am just oriented to

that kind of rhythm. a musical, dancer my whole life, and it is rhythmic to me. i love to see people laugh. filming in front of a live audience and feeling too hot to people or with laughter is pleasurable. -- feeling 200 people laugh is pleasurable. tavis: is there something that makes you better fit for this? >> i find humor and everything. i always have, since i was a kid. i was always getting in trouble because i would find things hilarious at inopportune times. puberty was not the most pleasant thing for me. and i had to develop a sense of humor to maintain my sanity. i think i am naturally inclined to find it funny in things in my head, and it was a survival tactic for me during puberty. i thanked, you know, -- i think,

you know, like make-believe. in comedy, he must believe. in drama, you must believe. in comedy, you have to believe so much, and then find that little hair that is sticking out and pull it to make it funny. it's almost like the same belief with a little extra thing because you have to make them laugh. tavis: if you cannot sell it, we cannot buy it. >> you mentioned a difficult puberty three times, and i was not going to follow-up. >> go wherever you want. tavis: what was that about, puberty being difficult? >> i was a late bloomer. i have wonderful parents. they're still married. tavis: where did you grow up? >> los angeles.

i always wanted to be cool. i was in parochial school, white shirts, the cool girls wore bras. i had no reason to be wearing a bra, but if you are cool, you could see a bra strap. they were all wearing makeup. my mom said, you not wearing makeup until your 16. i had bought teeth like i do not even know how to tell you. -- i had buck teeth. it was so bad, i had to wear neck gear. it was headgear. not just while you sleep, i had to wear it to school. i had to wear it while i ate. the 22 train my teeth. and then my bra didn't fit, i was not allowed to wear makeup, and then fricking headgear.

those were the key years. i could not even wear makeup to spice up the head gear. tavis: and look how this all turned out. >> well, thanks. tavis: for you with the peabody store, it means what to have succeeded in this business -- for you with the puberty story, it means what to have succeeded in this business, in this town? >> i was a dancer. i would audition for commercials when i was a kid. i did extra work. i was always on the periphery. i always knew in my heart that is where i wanted to end up. apparently, i told my mom while we were driving when i was 5, i was staring out the window, penny for your thoughts. she had to drag out of me. i said i wanna be famous on television one day. apparently. i cannot remember right, but she remembers it clearly. i was very affected by the carol burnett show and "i loev ve luc"

i think it just seeped in. i was always surrounded by it, reminded of it by living in this town. tavis: and now it is spelling out all over the place, going everywhere. jenna elfman, star of the new cbs show called "accidentally on purpose," monday night on cbs. congratulations on the show and the baby. >> thank you. tavis: access to ready a podcast at pbs.org, and i will see you back here next time on pbs. until then, good night from l.a., and as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley on pbs.org. tavis: join me next time with

oscar-winning actor forest whitaker and his documentary on the renewal of newark, new jersey, next time. >> there are so many things that wal-mart is looking forward to doing, like helping people live better. but mostly, we're helping build stronger communities and relationships. because with your help, the best is yet to come. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports "tavis smiley." tavis d nationwide, working together to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--