It's less than a month until Mad Men begins its final season and the cast and crew of AMC's signature drama gathered on-stage at PaleyFest on Friday night (Match 21, 2014) to discuss the inevitable end of Don Draper's long and complex story.

Mad Men season 7Mad Men Season 7 Begins in April

Creator Matthew Weiner continued to keep a lid on the direction of the final season and Jon Hamm admitted that he, nor the rest of the cast, know how the show will end despite shooting on the final seven episodes beginning in one week, reports Deadline.

Weiner was a producer and writer on The Sopranos - probably the greatest drama series of all time, though a show that divided audiences with its infamous final scene.

"I don't think David Chase was upsetting the audience," he said of the Sopranos creator, "That was the way that show had to end, and every year that passes we know that was the way the show should end. You can't divorce The Sopranos' ending from the audience's emotion. I will end Mad Men the way it tells me to do it, the way I want to do it. The way that Mad Men is finally perceived by the audience versus what I want to do are two different things and I want it to be satisfying. . . . I don't want to destroy the entire life of the show."

"Emotionally, we're in some phase of grief, which is probably denial," said Jon Hamm, "We are collectively realizing that the end is coming, and there's no way to prepare for it."

The first half of Mad Men's final season premieres April 13th on AMC. The second and final part will air in 2015.

More: Mad Men season 7 trailer.

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Watch Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeldt arriving for the Letterman show: