‘Mad Men’s’ lips are sealed

The Television Critics Assn. Press Tour, the semiannual gathering of television journalists from around the country, began at the Beverly Hilton on Tuesday. We offer these dispatches.

When “Mad Men” begins its second season on July 27, it jumps two years in time to 1962. But as for what will unfold in the rest of the season, even series creator Matthew Weiner is waiting to see.

“We’ll see how the election goes, what the mood is right now,” Weiner told a standing-room-only crowd of reporters Wednesday on Day 2 of the Television Critics Assn. Press Tour. “I’m sure that you’ll see a lot of overlap.”

The cast is in on only some of the story going forward.

“You hope for the best,” supporting actor John Slattery said. “When we get these scripts we’re texting each other, ‘Can you believe that?’ and oohing and aahing. It’s so unpredictable.

“I mean, we don’t know very much in advance at all. I’m afraid to ask, it could be your own death -- especially for me!” he said, half-joking. (His character suffered a heart attack in the first-season finale.) “If I’m in it, I’m happy.”

Jon Hamm, the show’s star, who is presumably safe for at least this season, chimed in. “You’re forced to play what you know, what’s in front of you,” he explained. “You don’t know if you’re going to be fired in two weeks, so you play it.”

The AMC drama, set on Madison Avenue in the midst of the cultural revolution of the 1960s, is basking in accolades that have only gotten louder as the Emmy nominations draw near.

The “Mad Men” cast still is taken aback over the show’s phenomenon status. “It’s encompassed 2 1/2 years of most of all our lives and I’ve been proud of this thing from the beginning,” Hamm said. “To have it validated and vindicated . . . is amazing.”

No one seemed concerned that the show’s first season averaged fewer than 1 million viewers, a small tally even for cable. “I don’t think anyone is looking at this like it’s not a commercial success,” Weiner said. “I don’t hear [people talking about] A&E; anymore, I hear AMC.”

The former all-movie channel has drawn acclaim as well for its other original programming -- the well-received “Broken Trail” miniseries and the dark comedy “Breaking Bad.” “I do hope as the network becomes more popular,” Weiner said, “the show will draw a larger audience.”