In 2010’s Jon Hamm reprising his Mad Men role for 2024’s Unfrosted proved that the actor doesn’t take himself too seriously, as do his ing comedic roles in everything from Bridesmaids to 30 Rock. However, while Hamm doesn’t mind mocking the gravitas he earned with roles in The Town, Richard Jewell, and Beirut, the actor only occasionally plays himself as a comedic self-parody.

Hamm appeared as versions of himself in 2016’s Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, 2019’s Between Two Ferns: The Movie, and individual episodes of American Dad, Family Guy, Toast of London, and Barry. However, only one show managed to convince Hamm to play himself as a ing character throughout its three seasons. Unlike Hamm’s uncredited role in Bridesmaids, the actor’s appearances in The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret never hid the actor’s identity.

Jon Hamm Played An Offbeat Version Of Himself In The Increasingly Poor Decisions Of Todd Margaret

The Increasingly Poor Decisions Of Todd Margaret Spoofed Hamm’s Screen Persona

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret stars series creator David Cross as the titular Todd Margaret, a temp worker who gets in far over his head when he is tasked with selling an energy drink to the UK market. Margaret is aided in his efforts by Dave, a British employee who delights in exploiting Todd Margaret's lack of understanding of British social norms and his tendency to compulsively lie under pressure. Dave is revealed to be the son of a rich lord who has secretly engineered Todd Margaret’s string of professional and personal struggles throughout the show.

As if this weren’t weird enough, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret sees Jon Ham play a fictionalized version of himself who is Dave’s manservant. Eventually, viewers learn that Dave hired Hamm to record the self-help CDs that led to Todd Margaret’s unearned promotion into a sales role. Although The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret season 4 never happened, the season 3 finale did reveal that this entire storyline was almost certainly all been a dream. Bizarrely, the ending of season 3 implied its events could have also been imagined.

Why The Increasingly Poor Decisions Of Todd Margaret Deserves More Attention

The Starry Cast and Funny Writing Of David Cross’s Show Received Little Attention

As implied by the synopsis above, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret was a surreal, chaotic series that never held back and constantly escalated its dramatic absurdity. Its starry cast included Cross, Hamm, Will Arnett, and British comedy mainstay Sharon Horgan. Characters who appeared throughout seasons 1 and 2 played different versions of themselves in season 3 after the surreal dream twist.

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret blended the dark, cynical humor of British TV comedy with the wild, anything-goes approach of a US sketch show.

Although The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret’s dark sense of humor is an acquired taste, the series still deserved more attention than it received upon release. A UK/US co-production, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret blended the dark, cynical humor of British TV comedy with the wild, anything-goes approach of a US sketch show. The result was a unique series that, while imperfect, allowed The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret to give Jon Hamm a memorable role as a bizarre parody of his real-life self.