LOS ANGELES -- For a group of people who seemed to genuinely enjoy making a decade of brilliant television together, the creators, cast and crew of Mad Men sure were giddy to watch it all come to an end.
AMC threw a major party for its now-departed show on Sunday night, starting with a live-read of the Season 1 finale, followed by a screening of the final episode and a buzzy afterparty at the gloriously restored Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/weiner.snaps_.jpg" caption=""Mad Men" creator Matt Weiner snaps photos before the series finale at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday night." credit="Mashable/Joy Darash" alt="weiner.snaps"]
Everywhere you looked, series creator Matt Weiner, stars Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss -- heck, anyone and everyone who's been associated with the show -- snapped photos, flashed huge smiles, hugged, playfully tackled one another (Hamm's signature move).
[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/roger.jpg" caption="John Slattery arrives at the "Mad Men" finale in downtown Los Angeles." credit="Mashable/Josh Dickey" alt="roger"]
At the top of the evening, Jason Reitman, whose live script-reads hosted by Film Independent have become something of a regular occurrence in Hollywood, directed a reading of the screenplay from the finale of the first season of Mad Men, "The Wheel." Colin Hanks took on the role of Don Draper, but Fred Savage stole the show. The Wonder Years star-turned-director played Pete Campbell -- absolutely nailing Vincent Kartheiser's waspy diction to a degree that was so spot on, the crowd tittered after every line.
As the live-read was winding to its conclusion, Hamm, John Slattery and other Mad Men cast and crew mingled in the empty lobby of the Ace, slapping each other on the back in giant hugs.
[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/20150517_190816.jpg" caption="Jon Hamm hugs an unidentified castmember at the "Mad Men" finale party at the Ace Hotel." credit="Mashable/Josh Dickey" alt="20150517_190816"]
With the live read over, the crowd piled out into the gothic lobby for another round of drinks. In just minutes, they would be saying goodbye to the show forever.
[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/mad.men_.ace_.inside.jpg" caption="The "Mad Men" finale party screening room." credit="Mashable/Josh Dickey" alt="mad.men.ace.inside"]
Weiner took the stage for a few short remarks before the screening began:
The lights went down, a whoop went up and the well-lubricated crowd ate up every minute of "Person to Person." They were standing and cheering heartily after Don Draper's Mona Lisa smile gave way to the classic Coke commercial.
As the screening room piled out, a lucky few hundred exited the theater and made their way to the rooftop party at the Ace, where you could't swing a plate of beef tenderloin without hitting someone from the show.
[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/IMG_3270.jpg" caption="The "Mad Men" afterparty." credit="Mashable/Joy Darash" alt="IMG_3270"]
"The End of an Era" they called it. Though Mad Men still feels like it's ending too soon, it went out with a party that Don, Roger, Peggy, Joan and all the good-timing Mad Men characters would've loved to have seen.