PASADENA, Calif. — The television series “Mad Men” begins airing its final seven episodes in April and the show’s notoriously secretive creator, Matthew Weiner, said he told only star actor Jon Hamm in advance how it will end.

So Weiner certainly wasn’t spilling any secrets to a roomful of television critics Saturday as he and the cast, by turns wistful and appreciative, talked about their experiences over the past decade. The series will begin its stretch run on AMC on April 5.

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Jon Hamm speaks to TV critics Friday. Of the cast, only Hamm knew the “Mad Men” ending in advance. The Associated Press

“I feel very satisfied with a lot of what we did, and I am super proud of the fact that we did not repeat ourselves, which is the tallest order of all of them,” Weiner said.

The creator and executive producer immersed himself in 1960s culture to write “Mad Men,” set at an ad agency during that era. He said he was struck by how many Americans turned inward after the tumultuous events of 1968, including the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy, and said that is reflected in the ending of his series.

Each of the last seven episodes feels like a finale, Weiner said. He took great pains over the years not to publicly reveal details of the show in advance but, behind the scenes, would often talk to actors about ideas that he had for their characters. That wasn’t the case for the end of the series. Actors like Elisabeth Moss said Saturday they were pleasantly surprised by the ending.

“It was surprising to the end,” actor John Slattery said. “It’s been surprising the whole time.”

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