The Hot New Trend For Summer 2023 Is Mashing ‘Mad Men’ Scenes Together With ‘I Think You Should Leave’

Mad Men wasn’t a comedy, but it was one funny drama. Creator Matthew Weiner and his writing staff were whizzes at razor sharp dialogue and devastating bob mots. Few TV characters, then and now, are as consistently witty as John Slattery’s Roger Sterling. It also got surreal. Remember that time John Hamm’s Don Draper got so mad at Roger that he orchestrated an elaborate revenge that ended with him puking his guts out at the original Sterling Cooper office? That was awesome.

Still, it’s not as funny as I Think You Should Leave, Tim Robinson’s beloved Netflix sketch show, which frequently skewers modern office politics. Many sketches feature Robinson or one of his guest stars blowing up over next-to-nothing — which could happen in the stressful confines depicted on Mad Men.

Someone else noticed some unexpected connections between the shows, namely that if you put I Think You Should Leave’s soul song-heavy between-sketch bumpers in front of certain Mad Men scenes, they could almost seem legit.

It all began when writer Ben Crew noticed Don seemed an awful lot like Tim Robinson in the Season 5 episode in which he blows up on Jessica Paré’s Megan at a Howard Johnson’s. He posted about it on Twitter.

Crew then kept making videos in which Mad Men scenes played like I Think You Should Leave sketches. Like the one where the Season 3 one involving the runaway lawnmower.

Or the time Ben Feldman’s Michael Ginsberg — Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce’s first and nearly only Jewish employee — professed his love to Elisabeth Moss’ Peggy Olsen in a decidedly unromantic fashion.

Crew thought William Mapother’s Randall Walsh could be a character played by ITYSL repeat guest star Will Forte.

And Pete Campbell? In Season 6, Crew argued, his every appearance is an ITYSL sketch, especially the famous “Not great, Bob!” bit, which is so much more than just “Not great, Bob!”

And the time Bert Cooper’s longtime secretary Miss Blankenship died? Definitely could come from the mind of Tim Robinson.

Crew’s mash-ups resonated with many, some of whom thought they could be real.

Anyway, good job, Ben Crew! You’ve revealed out unusual aspects of both Mad Men and I Think You Should Leave, two shows that unexpectedly go great together.