An interesting programming choice for the Lifetime Network was scheduling a head-to-head contest for their eight-part original series “The Lizzie Borden Chronicles” on the same date and time that the AMC Network launched the highly-anticipated final seven episodes of “Mad Men,” in which ad-man Don Draper is the chief protagonist.

Lizzie Borden is a real person, famously acquitted of the ax murders of her father and stepmother in the late 19th century, while Don Draper is purely fictional, in more ways than one, considering that his character’s real name was long-ago revealed to be Dick Whitman.

The parallels between Christina Ricci’s Lizzie Borden and Jon Hamm’s Don Draper are curiously rooted in the behavior of manipulative characters often showing disregard for truth and the feelings of others.

The key difference, of course, is that Don Draper, though often slick and conniving, is no murderer. Well, at least, not as far as we know up to now. We’ll see what seven episodes bring.

Lifetime’s “The Lizzie Borden Chronicles” is a followup to the cable network’s very successful launch of last year’s “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax,” which also starred Christina Ricci and Clea DuVall as the Borden sisters, Lizzie and Emma, respectively.

Set in 1893, the “Chronicles” begins four months after Lizzie Borden was acquitted in the controversial trial held in her hometown of Fall River, Massachusetts, a place where the Borden sisters remain, though ostracized from polite society.

As revealed to the nation’s TV critics during the winter press tour, in explaining the historical fiction of the series, Christina Ricci said that Lizzie’s story is about “what happens after the trial as she continues to misbehave, shall we say.” Indeed, that is very much the case, even as Emma turns a blind eye to the bizarre behavior of her younger sibling.

Greed and ambition are factors in Lizzie’s ongoing battles with her wayward half-brother (Andrew Howard), who becomes a convenient foil in a larger struggle with her father’s business partner (John Heard). In the first two episodes, let’s just say that untimely deaths for several persons are not mere coincidences.

People that are close to Lizzie, like Broadway luminaries and an underworld kingpin, start to mysteriously die under brutal and strange circumstances.

The legendary Pinkerton detective Charlie Siringo (Cole Hauser) becomes determined to prove Lizzie’s involvement in their ultimate demise, though his presence is curiously unwelcomed by the town’s inept marshal.

Keeping in mind that others besides Ricci involved in the production referred to the “Chronicles” as historical fiction, the storylines nevertheless work off some of the rumors that have swirled about the case, including that Lizzie engaged in lesbian acts with the maid in her employ.

At the winter press conference, one reporter had the temerity to observe that Christina Ricci is the “queen of the creepy smile.”

Well, he was spot-on. But that’s one reason why Ricci is so good in this type of role, and it’s a good enough to stay tuned to all episodes of “The Lizzie Borden Chronicles.”

While the Lizzie Borden fictional history is practically an open book, the AMC Network has gone to great lengths to keep news about “Mad Men” so tightly under wraps that we can’t even reveal whether Don Draper wears his fedora while driving a late model automobile. OK, I am exaggerating but AMC was not exactly forthcoming.

Basically, a request for a preview screener was not accommodated because they had run out of press kits. As if to provide comfort, the AMC publicist said the critics had been admonished not to reveal any details, so there was little point to watching an episode in advance.

So, therefore, what are the clues we can gather about what is to come? The series creator, Matthew Weiner, told the press in January that he was “extremely interested in what the audience thinks, so much so that I’m trying to delight them and confound them and not frustrate and irritate them. I don’t want them to walk away angry.”

Oh well, that doesn’t really clear up matters. What might be more telling is a promo reel on the AMC Web site entitled “Mad Men by the Numbers.” It tells us that during the course of the series 942 cigarettes were smoked and 369 drinks were poured in the office.

More notable is that Don Draper has gone through nine secretaries and that he’s slept with 18 women. Going by these metrics, more booze will flow and Don, though still married to Megan, could have a fling with one of the cast regulars. Could it be Christina Hendricks’ statuesque Joan Harris or Elisabeth Moss’s Peggy Olson, or some wild card?

Unlike network television, where repeat episodes come long after the season ends, cable tends to repeat the same episode during the course of the week, thus allowing you the likelihood of not having to choose Lizzie Borden over Don Draper, or vice versa.

Both series will be worth watching. My only quibble with “The Lizzie Borden Chronicles” was the occasional use of very contemporary language that does not fit the period.

On the other hand, one of the best things about “Mad Men” is how it captured the mood and tempo of Madison Avenue advertising during the 1960s.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.