If you liked Mad Men, you will love The Queen's Gambit, and here's why:

When Mad Men came out in the summer of 2007, it sent shock waves through television as we knew it. It spurred a love affair with mid-century style and design, showcased an engaging new ensemble of actors and characters, and introduced a mysterious but fresh narrative where nebulous story lines were slowly revealed but never spelled out. Similarly to what Sex and the City did for HBO, it put AMC on the map. AMC became the first cable station ever to earn the coveted Emmy for an Outstanding Drama series. Now, in 2021, we are firmly ensconced within a major renaissance of television: There is incredible diversity of storytelling both in terms of subject matter and series formats to choose from. That said, if you enjoyed Mad Men over the course of its thought-provoking, confusing yet captivating, seven-year run on AMC, you should give the limited Netflix series, The Queen’s Gambit, a shot.

*SOME SPOILERS AHEAD*

The Era

If you reveled in Mad Men’s journey through an era, from the late 50s through the 60s (the look, the feel, the sound) and its story of Don Draper, the mesmerizing, chiseled, self-made ad-man, with a shadowy background (played by the charismatic actor Jon Hamm) you will appreciate The Queen's Gambit.

Based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, The Queen's Gambit tells the story of the intense, striking, and troubled Kentucky-born orphan turned prodigy chess-player, Elizabeth Harmon, expertly portrayed by Argentine-British actress, Anya Taylor-Joy. Both Mad Men and The Queen’s Gambit are so much more than period pieces with enticing style. Both shows are character-driven and reel the viewer in with a strong emotional appeal. Viewers of The Queen’s Gambit wonder what Beth Harmon is thinking with her relentless gaze just as they mused over the enigma that is Don Draper. Beth Harmon and Don Draper are both irresistible anti-heroic protagonists with a strong love-hate vibe that come from humble, sordid and tortured beginnings.

The Look

Similar to Mad Men, the production design in The Queen’s Gambit provides a strong sense of place. The interiors help to tell the story of Beth’s life from her austere, drab and institutional beginnings to an adoptive home that was far from perfect yet nostalgic and wistful. Beth’s horizons broaden both literally and figuratively as she immerses herself into the world of chess tournaments. The sets and places on the road become more expansive, grand and opulent.

The Queen’s Gambit also takes a page from Mad Men’s fashion playbook. Costume designer Gabriele Binder treats the audience to a variety of sweet confections in Beth Harmon’s wardrobe. Beth’s style evolves as she does, from the orphanage and high school hallways to the tournament halls of Paris and Moscow, taking cues from Audrey Hepburn, Edie Sedgwick and iconic 60’s French fashion. Beth stares out from her big brown eyes and porcelain skin under a sleek bob of deep auburn; she dons simple chic dresses and skirts paired with feminine blouses and appears more comfortable in her own skin as the series progresses.

As her confidence grows, Beth’s wardrobe features increasingly glamorous looks, rich fabrics, and structured clothing with a heightened sense of power and drama. Many of her outfits feature grids and checks of various sizes in homage to the chess board. One even darkly references the mint green and black color and banded design of the tranquilizers that Beth becomes addicted to during her orphanage stay.

The Sound

Mad Men supplied many perfect era-defining musical moments. Some were quirky, many were schmaltzy, some iconic, and others suitably ironic. Who can forget Betty Draper placidly shooting her son’s BB gun at the neighbor’s pet pigeons in retaliation for threats to the family dog, with a cigarette dangling from her lips, all to the soulful crooning of Bobby Helms’s “My Special Angel?"

(“Shoot,” Season 1, Episode 9, Mad Men, AMC, 2007)

Or Jessica Pare (as the 2nd Mrs. Draper) serenading Don at his surprise 40th birthday party with a frothy, titillating rendition of "Zou Bisou Bisou," while he stared on in faint horror and bemusement.

(“A Little Kiss, Part 1,” Season 5, Episode 1, Mad Men, AMC, 2012)

The Queen’s Gambit also delivers a solid playlist of 60s tunes that both set the mood and advance the story. A few stand-out musical moments include:

"Venus" by Dutch rock band Shocking Blue provides the soundtrack of Beth’s drug and alcohol-infused race to the bottom.

("Adjournment," The Queen's Gambit, Episode 6, Netflix, 2020)

Awkward and brainy fellow chess player, Harry Beltik, walks in on Beth dancing easily and sensuously to “Fever” by Peggy Lee.

("Fork," The Queen's Gambit, Episode 5, Netflix, 2020)

Beth gets some help from her new chess friends and gains some momentum: she plays simultaneous speed chess to prepare for a match, 3 against 1 to the tunes of "Yeh, Yeh" by Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames.

("Adjournment," The Queen's Gambit, Episode 6, Netflix, 2020)

The Journey

Don Draper struggles viscerally with his dark side through all seven seasons as a functioning alcoholic and sex addict. The last episode of the last season finds Don seeking solace at Big Sur’s enchanted Esalen, clad in white, chanting Om and awaiting enlightenment. Don sits cross-legged in perfect yogic fashion, on the grassy knoll with his fellow meditators, while the Pacific surf crashes relentlessly on the astounding bluffs below. A bell chimes and the furious concentration on Don’s brow softens, yielding an enigmatic smile.

It's the Real Thing: Life imitates Art imitates TV Ads (The Coca Cola Company, 1971)

Cut to the real-world, paradigmatic and wildly successful 1971 television ad for the ages "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" delivered in ethereal, seraphic tones by an internationally diverse cast of hundreds on the idyllic slopes of Manziana, Italy. (This ad was so popular that Coca-Cola commissioned a new band, The Hillside Singers, to release a hit pop single version.) Don exits, top of his game. We understand that this campaign is his brainchild, perhaps his crowning achievement.

*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

Similarly we leave Beth at the top of her own game; in some ways we are even more hopeful for Beth than for Don. Beth has conquered a demon or two. She is making genuine connections with others. As a young girl, abandoned, sullen, and furious, at the Methuen Home, chess drew her out. It led her to her first friendship with Shaibel, the custodian at the orphanage who taught her the game and laid down the rules of engagement, not tolerating Beth's acid-tongue and bad sportsmanship.

Beth also realizes the value of her friendship with Jolene, her former partner-in-crime at the orphanage, now a paralegal and aspiring attorney, who comes through for her when she needs it most, by sponsoring her trip to the world tournament in Moscow. Beth is coming to terms with the loss of her brilliant, haunted and desperate biological mother, as well as the additional loss of her adoptive mother, thwarted concert pianist and disappointed, alcoholic housewife, Alma Wheatley. Before Alma succumbs to hepatitis, she supports Beth in her chess dreams and manages to be a decent parent and friend to her. Beth also recognizes the value of her motley crew of guy chess friends who help her prepare for her match and phone her international long distance from New York to Moscow (exorbitantly expensive in 1968) despite her oft alienating behavior and cold treatment of them. In an interview with Life Magazine, she explains her fascination with the game: "Chess can also be beautiful. It was the board I noticed first. It's an entire world of just 64 squares. I feel safe in it. I can control it; I can dominate it. And it's predictable, so if I get hurt, I only have myself to blame." (“Doubled Pawns,” The Queen's Gambit, episode 3, Netflix, 2020.) Chess has given Beth a way to be in the world.

At the 1968 Tournament of Champions in Russia, Beth ends the reign of USSR Grandmaster and World Champion, Vasily Borgov, after an hours-long, nail-biting match. After her ecstatic victory, her PR handlers pack her into a limousine but she exits to walk, dazed and heroic, through the streets of Moscow and ends up at Sokolniki Park, famous for its chess culture and "pick-up" games. Beth is dressed majestically in head-to-toe white; she dons a splendid, architectural outfit of tailored wide pants, oversized coat with massive buttons, tall boots and onion dome wool beret, embodying the white queen. She has arrived, she is in control, the future is hers. A crowd of chess players (mostly older Russian gentlemen at this locale) immediately swarm her. Beth embraces the moment, enveloped in humanity, and takes a seat, with a gentle smile, ready to play.