“Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner said he came to the conclusion that it would have been “a lie” to skip over the Kennedy assassination in the 1960s-era AMC series, in discussing with TVGuide.com his surprise decision to include it this season, despite having previously said he wouldn’t.

Weiner had previously said he didn’t think he had anything to add to an understanding of the event. But, "My attitude about the assassination changed as I got deeper and deeper into the period and after I wrote the first two seasons," he told TVGuide.com. "I thought it was a lie to skip it," he said. "But I did want to show what I think is almost the premise of the show: How we experience history, even something as gigantic as that, is still very personal to what’s going on in your life."

–Elizabeth Jensen