In the Golden Age of television — or Peak TV, or “oh god, please stop, I have enough to watch already” — shows aren’t just more cinematic, they’re offering us more of everything. That includes more sex scenes, which have become increasingly prevalent, revealing, daring and yes, even artful, reinforcing the notion that TV has become more like film. We recently chose the 25 best movie sex scenes of the last 25 years, and with the smaller screen’s growing resemblance to its big screen brethren, we thought it only right to do the same for television. We also assumed that making a list of the 25 best TV sex scenes of the last 20 years would be far easier and much less surprising. Spoiler alert: We were wrong.
Mad Men always maintained an odd relationship with history, incorporating major ‘60s events, but keep Sterling-Cooper and Don Draper’s work somewhat obscure in the advertising world. No longer, it seems, as Heinz has officially adopted an abandoned ketchup pitch from Mad Men Season 6 for use in the real world.