Jon Hamm is trending because he and Anna Osceola are expecting their first kid, and he's been on TODAY and everywhere else talking about being a first-time dad at 55. Sweet story. Absolutely nothing to watch in it.
But I know how this goes, because it happens to me every time Hamm pops up in my feed. I think "I could go for some Don Draper," I sign up for something on a Friday night, and six weeks later I'm paying for three services I forgot about. The man has a lot of good work spread across a lot of apps. That's the actual problem this guide solves.
So here's the version of the rabbit hole I actually recommend. Run this checklist first, then read the details on where each of his best things live.
The before-you-subscribe checklist
- Decide which Hamm you want. Don Draper, prestige-drama Hamm, and comedy Hamm live on different services.
- Check what you already pay for. Two of his best recent shows are on apps a lot of households already have.
- Exhaust the free options. There are more than you'd think, and none of them involve sketchy websites.
- Time your trial. Most of the services here still offer seven days, which is plenty for a targeted binge.
- Buy the ad tier. For catalog TV it almost never matters, and it's usually half the price.
Now the why behind each one.
1. Which Hamm are you in the mood for?
This matters more than it sounds, because his filmography splits cleanly into buckets, and each bucket has a different home.
Don Draper. Mad Men, seven seasons, 92 episodes. The reliable US home is AMC+. It has bounced around over the years, including a stretch where it was free with ads on Amazon's old Freevee brand, which no longer exists. The ad-supported Prime Video catalog sometimes still carries it, so search there before paying anyone. Check the official listing, because this one moves.
Prestige-drama Hamm. This is the bucket that's been busiest lately. Your Friends & Neighbors, where he plays a fired hedge fund guy who starts robbing his rich neighbors, is on Apple TV. The Morning Show is also Apple TV. Landman, where he shows up as the oil company boss opposite Billy Bob Thornton, is Paramount+. Fargo season five, where he plays a genuinely scary sheriff, is on Hulu. Good Omens is on Prime Video.
Comedy Hamm. Honestly my favorite version of him. 30 Rock (he's the handsome doctor who's bad at everything) is on Peacock. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, where he's the cult leader, is on Netflix. His SNL hosting episodes are on Peacock too. Bridesmaids is a Universal movie, so Peacock is the first place to look, though it rotates.
Movie Hamm. Top Gun: Maverick is a Paramount film and usually lands on Paramount+, but it has been licensed out before, so verify. Baby Driver is Sony, which means it wanders between Netflix and others. The Town and Richard Jewell are both Warner Bros., so HBO Max is the first guess, but neither is a permanent fixture. Confess, Fletch is the underrated one. It's a Miramax title and has spent time on Paramount+ and Showtime. When in doubt, check the official site of the service before you subscribe for one movie. I've been burned.
2. What do you already pay for?
Before you add anything, open your bank statement. I'm serious. Most people are already paying for at least one of these.
- Apple TV is around $12.99 a month on its own, but it's also inside Apple One bundles, and it's the free perk people forget they got with a new iPhone or a carrier plan. If you have it, Your Friends & Neighbors is the best recent Hamm thing, full stop, and it's already yours.
- Prime Video comes with a regular Prime membership (about $14.99 a month, ads included unless you pay the extra $2.99). If you have Prime for shipping, Good Omens costs you nothing extra.
- Hulu with ads runs about $9.99. If you're on a Disney bundle, Fargo season five is sitting there.
- Netflix with ads is $7.99, and that's where Kimmy Schmidt and the Black Mirror Christmas special with Hamm live. Same catalog on the cheap tier, which is the whole point of item five.
- Paramount+ Essential is $7.99 and Premium is $12.99. Landman is on both tiers.
- Peacock Premium is about $10.99. 30 Rock and the SNL archive are there.
My own setup is Prime (for the shipping, really) plus whatever one service I'm actively using that month. That covers a surprising amount of this list.
3. Exhaust the free stuff
This is where I earn my keep.
Your library card. Most public libraries give you Hoopla or Kanopy, and many still lend DVD box sets. Mad Men on DVD from the library is the single cheapest way to watch all 92 episodes, and I'm not being cute. It's zero dollars.
Tubi, Pluto TV, and The Roku Channel. None of these carry Mad Men permanently, but Hamm's studio movies rotate through all three constantly. Search his name once a month rather than trusting an article from last year. I've found Million Dollar Arm and Keeping Up with the Joneses on free tiers more than once. They're fine background movies for a guy folding laundry.
The ad-supported Prime Video shelf. Amazon moved its free catalog inside Prime Video when it shut down Freevee. You still don't need a Prime membership to watch that free-with-ads shelf. Worth a search for Mad Men specifically.
Pluto's live channels. Pluto runs themed channels that occasionally cycle through AMC catalog shows. It's hit or miss, and you can't pick the episode, but it's free.
4. Time your trial
Trials are the budget streamer's best friend and the reason I keep a calendar reminder titled "CANCEL" on repeat.
Apple TV, Paramount+, and AMC+ have all offered seven-day free trials, though Apple in particular tinkers with this, so confirm on the sign-up page. Hulu sometimes still does a longer trial for new accounts. Netflix and Peacock generally don't offer trials at all, so those you just pay for a month and cancel.
Seven days is enough for Your Friends & Neighbors (nine episodes a season) or Fargo season five (ten episodes). It is not enough for Mad Men. Don't kid yourself. Budget two or three months of AMC+ for that one, and see item five.
Set the cancel reminder for day six, not day seven. The app will happily charge you at midnight.
5. Buy the ad tier
AMC+ with ads has hovered around $4.99, versus roughly $9.99 for ad-free. Here's the thing about Mad Men: it aired on cable. Every episode was built with act breaks. The ads land where the fades to black already are. It's the least annoying ad-tier experience I know of.
Same logic for 30 Rock on Peacock and Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix. Those were broadcast-style comedies with commercial breaks baked in. Pay the cheap tier.
The one exception I'd make is a prestige movie night. If you're going to watch Top Gun: Maverick on a big TV with people over, the Paramount+ Premium tier gets you no ads and a better stream. Still cancel afterward.
What's new right now (the part that will age)
Your Friends & Neighbors was renewed by Apple after its first season, so if you're reading this near a season two premiere, that's the trial to time. Landman season two ran on Paramount+ in late 2025. Amazon has said the Good Omens finale arrives as a single feature-length episode rather than a full season, so check Prime Video for the date. Anything else you read about "Hamm's new project" is probably in production, not streamable. Don't subscribe for a rumor.
Bottom line
If you take one service for one week: Apple TV for Your Friends & Neighbors, then cancel.
If you're a Mad Men person: AMC+ ad tier for two months at about five bucks each, or the library DVDs for nothing.
If you refuse to pay a cent: library, the free Prime Video shelf, and a monthly Tubi and Pluto search. You'll miss the Apple shows, but you'll get more Hamm than you can finish.
And congrats to the guy. Go watch something you already paid for.
Theo, still not paying for ad-free.
— Theo Nguyen